South Texas Showboats sign two more players - by Eurobasket NewsThe South Texas Showboats have announced the signing of 2 more former San Antonio High School Athletes. Kenny Wilson (John Jay H.S) and Langston Grady (John Jay H.S).

Mr. Wilson finished his time here in San Antonio and went on to play at Boise State University, then finally pushed his talents overseas into Czech, Republic. Langston Grady went on to play at Missouri Western University. 'We are very happy to have so many of our local San Antonio athletes be able to come out and compete at such a high level. With the additions of both of these that gives us 9 active roster players in which 7 are from San Antono schools.' said coach Benjamin Mireles. Coach Benjamin Mireles also is a local San Antonio athlete who played 4 yrs varsity at Robert E. Lee high School. Benjamin Mireles has been on his own since he was 12 years old and is now the owner and Head Coach of a team that he put together with no help at all. 'I believe in the game of basketball and I believe in the athletes in San Antonio. I wanted to put this team together to be able to give back to the communtiy. Now I have a chance to do things for people and the youth. David Robinson has always been an idol of mine and I have great repect for the man that began and ended his career in San Antonio. I learned a lot about his career but most of all I learned alot about Mr. Robinson himself. He is a really great guy. I know we have a great group of guys that will compete this year and with additions of a few outside players like Frank(Ford), Robert(Harrington) and a few other big men, we believe in our solitude and believe we can be another professional championship team in time to come.' said coach Benjamin Mireles.

Courtesy of the South Texas Showboats

Last transactions - by Gianni PascucciThe Alaska Dream announced the signing of two more players, to complete the 2008-09 roster. The new players are Carl Arts (6'6''-F-85), from the University of Alaska-Anchorage and Brian French, 6'8' forward from Central Washington University. The Kansas City Spartans added to the roster John Hawkins, a 6'3' shooting guard from Northwest Missouri State.

*****************************************************

AUSTRALIA

Perth secure win over Wollongong - by Eurobasket NewsPerth came up strong against the Wollongong at the Challenge Stadium and posted the second win at the NBL regular season. The Wildcats overcame their opponents 105:92 to improve to 2-2 record in the ladder. The loss sent the Hawks to 1-2 record in the lower part of the standings. The Wildcats dominated the game right from the start. They jumped to a 20:2 lead and ensured 38:17 advantage at the first intermission. Shawn Redhage (202-F-81, agency: Warren Sports International, college: Arizona St.) scored quick 10 points at the start of the second quarter and soon the Wildcats extended the margin to 25 points. However consecutive trebles from Mat Campbell (196-F/G-76, college: Towson) allowed Wollongong to clip the distance to 18 points at halftime. However the Wildcats quickly denied the momentum for the Hawks and stretched the margin back to comfortable 28 points early in the third frame. The teams slowed down afterwards with Perth securing a safe 26-point cushion before the fourth term. Wollongong outscored their opponents 30:17 in the fourth quarter but it did not change the complexion of the game. Perth looked solid and eased to the win at the end. Shawn Redhage nailed game-high 29 points for the winners. Darnell Hinson (186-G-80, college: Northeastern St.) added 21 points, while Alex Loughton (205-F/C-83, agency: Octagon, college: ODU) had 15 points in the winning case. Glen Saville (197-G/F-76) answered with 17 points for Wollongong. Mat Campbell dropped 16 points in defeat.Perth will next visit Townsville to take on the Crocs. The Hawks will host the South Dragons on October 4.

He is the cousin of former centre Ralph Sampson, a four-time all-star who retired in 1992.

Sampson was brought in as insurance for Jawai, who is prohibited from participating at training camp because of an irregularity found in a pre-season cardiac screening.

Jawai, 21, is the first indigenous player from Australia drafted by an NBA team, selected in the second round (41st overall) by Toronto in June.

If and when Jawai is cleared to play, Sampson will likely be released.

The Raptors opened training camp Tuesday at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Courtesy of http://www.cbc.ca

*****************************************************

AUSTRIA

Gmunden split games in Czech Republic - by Eurobasket NewsAllianz Swans Gmunden continued their build-up for the upcoming season. They travelled to Czech Republic for several friendlies. Gmunden overcame Liberec 86:73 to post the opening win. The Austrian outfit led right from the start and built a 45:37 advantage at halftime. Liberec never rebounded and suffered the loss at the end. Deteri Mayes (189-G-74, agency: Court Side, college: Murray St.) paced the visitors with 18 points. Anthony Fisher (191-G-83) added 15 points, while Shelton Colwell (202-F-80, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Missouri St.) and Elijah Palmer (201-F-81, agency: Court Side, college: Duquesne) secured 13 points each in the win. Next Gmunden took on Decin in another exhibition encounter. This time it was Czech team that dominated in the court. They ran away to a 22-point advantage at the interval and never allowed Gmunden to recover after the long break. Gmunden lost the battle 87:100. Elijah Palmer and Anthony Fisher led Gmunden with 14 points apiece. Deteri Mayes added 12 points in the losing clause. In the meantime Kraftwerk Wels also played in Czech Republic. They fell short against Decin 71:88. Brandon Thomas (198-G/F-84, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Massachusetts) nailed 25 points to lead Wels. Andrew Strait (203-F/C-85) provided 16 points in defeat. Brandon Thomas exploded with 30 points for Wels as they overcame Liberec in the second game. Armin Woschank (184-G-82, agency: R.H.Consultancy) added 20 points, while Casey Archibald (193-G-84, agency: Pro Agents-Basketball Careers) produced 18 in the 105:92 victory. The Oberwart Gunners prevailed against St. Polten 87:67. Jason Johnson (202-F/C-77, college: Tennessee St.) secured 20 points for the winning side. Milan Stegnjaic (205-F/C-82) added 13 points, while Hannes Artner (185-G-84) and Paul Radakovics (188-G-88) dropped 10 points apiece for the Gunners.

Very interesting game was played in Sophia between Levski and Rilski Sportist. It was a match with huge number of points decided after two over times, 123-132 for the visitors. At the end of regular time the score was 102-102. After almost equalized first frame, Rilski started to play much better creating 11-point lead at the middle of the second one, 35-44. At that time Travis Peterson (208-C-85, agency: Edge Sports, college: Samford) shined with two triples. Very soon Levski made 14-0 run mostly owing to Marcus Hall (185-G-85, college: Colorado), who scored 19 points in the first half. Later, Levski touched plus 10 but visitors managed to equalize and to reach over time. In the second one, Rilski was much better deserving 9-point win at the end. Ivan Lilov (196-F/G-88, agency: FCM) nailed 29 points for the winners. Travis Peterson and Asen Saraliyski (199-F-84) had 24 points each. On the other side, Marcus Hall was totally the best in Levski draining 36 points. Teams will play another friendly game tomorrow at 17:30h in Samokov.

Crvena Zvezda was better than Bulgarian powerhouse Lukoil Akademik 79-73. The game was played in Pirot, native town of Zvezda's head coach Svetislav Pesic. Belgrade's team had magnificent first quarter, especially at the defensive end. Red-and-whites let Bulgarians to net only 9 points for 10 minutes while they drained 23. It is interesting but Lukoil wasn't able seriously to treat until the end of the game, despite it was slightly better in the other three quarters. At the very end Marko Marinovic (183-G-83) was focused keeping Lukoil on minus 6. American Andre Owens (192-G-80, college: Houston) scored 21 points for the wining team. Second American Lawrence Roberts (205-F/C-82, college: Mississippi St.) also was good having 16 points. Young prospect Marko Keselj (206-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) was the last one with double figures in Zvezda adding 11 points. Bulgarian champion got 14 points from Hristo Nikolov (200-F-85). Its top star Todor Stoykov (198-G/F-77, agency: Interperformances) stopped on 9 points. Ex member of Crvena Zvezda Antonio Burks (183-G-80, agency: Court Side, college: Memphis) contributed with 8 points. The only Serbian this season in Lukoil, power forward Nenad Canak (204-F-76, agency: Beo Basket) had 3 points.

Levski looks for American big guy, wants PG Lamont Jones - by Eurobasket NewsHead coach of Levski Sophia Konstantin Papazov announced that his team is looking to sign American big guy as well as ex point guard of Lukoil Akademik Lamont Jones (183-G-72, agency: Passing Lane, college: Bridgeport). However, Papazov didn't announce name of the player on position five as he is waiting to see will he get NBA contract or not. According to him, if that didn't happen Levski will continue with huge reinforcement under the basket. At the same time Papazov confirmed that Levski is interested to sign former point guard of Lukoil Akademik Lamont Jones. The problem with signing the Jones is budget as Levski still has to see how expensive the other American big guy will be. Anyway, Papazov stated there is a nice chance that Levski will be able to hire both players.

Tomorrow at 19h in Sophia will be played promotional mini NBL tournament. Eight teams, which competes in NBL, will participate but with only three players and a coach. The games will be played with streetball rules. In the quarterfinals Lukoil Akademik will meet Rilski Sportist. Balkan Botevgrad will take on Yambol while Levski plays against CSKA. In the last quarterfinal game Spartak Pleven will face against Cherno More. Semifinals as well as the final day will also be held tomorrow. Game for third place won't be played.

He is the cousin of former centre Ralph Sampson, a four-time all-star who retired in 1992.

Sampson was brought in as insurance for Jawai, who is prohibited from participating at training camp because of an irregularity found in a pre-season cardiac screening.

Jawai, 21, is the first indigenous player from Australia drafted by an NBA team, selected in the second round (41st overall) by Toronto in June.

If and when Jawai is cleared to play, Sampson will likely be released.

The Raptors opened training camp Tuesday at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Courtesy of http://www.cbc.ca

2 Canadians Primed To Join NEW MEXICO State - by John Garycourtesy basketball canada Two top notch canadian players will be joining the New Mexico State University Basketball team this fall. Tyrone Watson and Hernst LaRoche a 6-1 guard and a 6-5 forward respectively. Watson and Laroche put up respectable numbers last season. WATSON starred at VARIANA HIGH School where he was the teams leading scorer during his tenure there. The two stars will deepen a talented roster that might make some noise out west this season.

Willie Solomon back to make impact in NBA - by Eurobasket NewsThe stereotype of the American basketball player dying to play in the National Basketball Association took a hit this summer when Josh Childress left the Atlanta Hawks to go play in Greece.

By that time, Willie Solomon (187-G-78, college: Clemson) had already spent years thinking that same way: Money and playing time were more important than competing in the league he grew up watching.

'I wasn't even looking to the NBA. I had a contract on the table. I was looking to go back to Europe,' Solomon said of his off-season mind set as his new team, the Toronto Raptors, worked out for the first time yesterday at Carleton University.

'My agent called me with the [Toronto] situation. I looked into it. We both talked about it for about a week. I came here and visited Toronto. I met with [head coach Sam Mitchell]. He's from the same area I'm from. We met with him, had lunch. We talked. I liked his strategy. I liked his charisma. I liked him as a person and also I respected him as a player.'

All of that, not to mention the chance to prove that he can play in the best league in the world, compelled Solomon to head back to North America to play for the Raptors. The 30-year-old guard estimates he gave up about US$2-million from his old club, Fenerbahce of Istanbul, Turkey, to return to the league.

His first go-around in the league, however, was not a memorable one. Solomon skipped his senior year at Clemson University to enter the 2001 draft, in which he did not get picked until the second round, 33rd overall, by the Memphis Grizzlies.

After an unspectacular year in Tennessee, he had a choice to make.

'It was my decision, going to Europe,' Solomon said. 'I had an offer on the table from Memphis and [one from] Washington at the time, but my agent and myself, we decided it was good money in Europe. Really, I was a young guy at the time and I wanted to play. Looking at the situation I was going into, I was the third point guard in Memphis behind Jason Williams and Brevin Knight.'

One year overseas morphed into six. Solomon played in Greece, Israel and Turkey, including a stint with Maccabi Tel Aviv, where Anthony Parker was among his teammates.

And Solomon became one of the more explosive scorers in the Euroleague.

'The [plan] wasn't to stay six years, but I was happy, playing, [getting] good money, taking care of my family, and myself ' Solomon said. 'I just grew accustom to the European life. I wanted to stay there. And I enjoyed it.'

At the same time, he saw Parker excelling in Toronto, with other former Euroleague players such as Jose Calderon and Jorge Garbajosa making an impact.

And when Calderon supplanted T. J. Ford as the team's starter, the Raptors were left with a gaping hole behind Calderon.

Former second-round pick Roko Ukic is expected to fill that spot, but the team appears content to let the 24-year-old watch a whole lot before takes on a significant role.

And that leaves some space for Solomon.

'I think [Solomon] gives Sam a little bit more of a comfort level,' president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said yesterday, 'knowing that he's got someone back there not only that has played in the league but has achieved a pretty high level of performing in Europe.'

'At this point in my career I feel that's it's not about money,' Solomon said. 'It's about really being happy. It's about trying to fulfill some of the goals I didn't fulfill as a basketball player.'

And if that does not work, well, there is always the money.

'Whatever happens, happens. I have a career in Europe. It's always in the back of my mind.'

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., said Monday afternoon he was signing a contract to play professionally in Bosnia and will be leaving by Wednesday, at the latest. ''I got a good deal, it's the best thing for me,'' Jenkins said by cell phone. ''As soon as I got drafted by the Patroons, the next day, I got the call from my agent about Bosnia.''

When asked if he told the Patroons he was going to skip Albany, he said, ''No.''

Rowland found out about it when the Times Union called him later in the day on Monday.

''I had talked to him and he said he was going to come,'' Rowland said. ''I know this is a business and I understand it. He has to do what is right for himself.''

Jenkins averaged a team-high 13.9 points for Winthrop last season and was named the most Valuable Player of the Big South Tournament after scoring 33 points in the league championship game. That sent the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament.

Rowland said he has hopes that the second-round pick of the Patroons, Patrick Sanders, a 6-6, 225-pound forward from California-Irvine, will come to camp, which starts in late November.

''But I've been around this league enough to know that you wait until they walk in the door,'' he said. ''Then, you know they're here.''

Courtesy of http://www.timesunion.com

*****************************************************

CHINA

Shanxi Zhongyu Hires Former NBA Coach Bob Weiss - by Arthur VolbertBob Weiss , former head coach of the Seattle Supersonics, has been named head coach of Shanxi Zhongyu, which finished in last place in the CBA in 2007-2008.

Ma Lianbao, who was only hired in February, was let go without having coached a single CBA game.

It's my first time leaving the States to be a coach in a foreign country, the 66-year-old Weiss told www.fiba.com . 'My former experiences were all in the NBA. My daughter has gone to college so I don't need to take care of her anymore, and that means I have more time.

In May, Weiss was in Shanghai for an Adidas basketball training camp and he said the experience made him have a new thought about the different basketball culture.

The hiring of Weiss is another indication that the CBA intends to continue to develop its basketball program so that China will be one of the top teams in international basketball. China no longer has the fear that it would not produce enought tall players to compete with the very best, as it did in the 1980's and early 1990's. In truth, as Chinese Basketball Theory has long predicted, because of its enormous population size and innate group physical characteristics, China has the potential to one day produce an even better basketball team than America had for the 2008 Olympics.

But this will take time, and the hiring of top-notch coaches like Bob Weiss .

*****************************************************

CROATIA

Cibona Zagreb adds American Rawle Marshall - by Eurobasket NewsCibona Zagreb announced signing of American Rawle Marshall (201-G-82, college: Oakland) on a one-year deal. Marshall already has nice experience in Adriatic league as he spent last season in Hemofarm Vrsac. He appeared 22 times in regional championship averaging 15.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 apg and 1.4 spg. He was maybe the best player of Hemfoarm Vrsac in ULEB Cup, where his digits were even better. In 12 games Marshall recorded 17.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.1 apg and 1.4 spg. Hemofarm managed to reach three finals last season but every single time Partizan Igokea was better (Adriatic league, Serbian league, Serbian Cup). Before Hemofarm, Rawle Marshal used to play for NBA team Indiana Pacers. On season 06/07 he registered 40 appearances in NBA with adding 2.5 ppg. It was his second NBA season as the rookie one Marshall spent in Dallas Mavericks. Most of that season he played for D-League team Fort Worth Flyers. Marshal graduated at Oakland University in 2005 with impressive digits in senior one 19.9 ppg and 7.7 rpg. He led Oakland to win on MCC Tournament 2005.

Situation about Damir Markota (209-C/F-85) is not resolved yet. It is expected to happen until the end of the week.

Zadar fines Romel Beck, plans to send him on loan - by Eurobasket NewsManagement of current Croatian champion Zadar decided to fine American Romel Beck (203-G/F-82, agency: Interperformances, college: UNLV) by cutting him one month salary. At the same time Zadar announced it doesn't count on him any more. The reason for this decision in conflict with head coach Aleksandar Petrovic. According to Zadar's Sports Director Giuseppe Giergia, the team will try to loan Beck to some other club.

'We made a decision that Beck won't be the member of our senior team any more. The reason is unprofessional behavior. Namely, he denied to come in during the friendly game and he will be fined by cutting one month salary. We will try to find a new club for him. It would be a good move as we will save some money because his contract is guaranteed and we have to pay him even if he do not play for Zadar, said Giuseppe Giergia for Zadar's media Novi Radio.

According to some rumors, Union Olimpija is interested to get Romel Beck on loan. However, nothing is officially conformed by the Slovenian team. At the same time Marlon Garnett could be his possible replacement in Zadar, what is also just a rumor at this moment.

In the meantime Vinko Bosnjak (186-G-80) returned to Dubrava. He tried to find a club abroad but at the end he decided to return in Zagreb. Before Dubrava, Bosnjak was a member of Dubrovnik, Zrinjevac, Bronjo Citluk, Dona Dubrava and Benston.

*****************************************************

CZECH REPUBLIC

Decin victorious in preseason action - by Eurobasket NewsDecin secured a number of preseason wins lately. The Czech team took on Chemnitz and rolled to an 89:80 victory at the end. Pavel Milos (200-F-79, agency: PPGroup) nailed 9 three-pointers to finish with 32 points for Decin. William Hatcher (188-G-84, agency: LimeLight, college: Miami, OH) added 19 points, while John Ofoegbu (206-C-82, college: Idaho St.) delivered 12 points in the win. Next Decin faced Austrian Kraftwerk Wels and left no chance for the visitors. Leading by as many as 13 points early in the game Decin however allowed Wels to cut the distance to 4 points. However a 22:9 rally saw Decin grab a 66:49 advantage in the third frame. Wels did not surrender and once again trimmed the deficit to 6 points. However Decin prevailed at the end posting yet another preseason victory 88:71. William Hatcher knocked down 15 points and dished out 10 assists for Decin. Pavel Milos contributed 13 points in the winning case. Decin then registered the third win in a row holding off Gmunden 100:86. Decin cleared off to a 22-point distance at halftime and never looked back again after the break. Admir Alic (198-F-84) and Pavel Milos secured 20 points each for Decin. Pavel Houska (201-F-84, agency: PPGroup) and William Hatcher netted 16 points apiece for the winners. Meanwhile Nymburk lost their exhibition game against Capo Orlando 96:98. The teams traded the baskets throughout the action with neither side able to clear off. Finally the teams entered the extra period to solve the outcome. There Upea Orlando secured a tough win. Tyus Edney (178-G-73, college: UCLA) nailed 31 points for the winners. Drake Diener (196-G-81, agency: Priority Sports, college: De Paul) produced 25 points for the Italian side. Blake Schilb (201-G-83, college: Loyola, IL) answered with 29 points for Nymburk. Ladislav Sokolovsky (201-F-77, agency: PPGroup) chipped in 21 points in defeat.

PRO A MARKET - by Gregory CaruIn order to substitute for Nikkhah an iranian player that the club didn't want to conserve,Cholet Basket has signed Vincent Grier, a very good player who can play anywhere on the floor,an excellent and very athletic defender.Last year he played in Gravelines(13ppg 4,7rpg 2,4apg)with a participation in FIBA Euro Cup(15ppg)it was a good season for him,but bad fot his team,without Play Offs.He has signed in a good team in France,with a great coach(Erman Kunter)in order to demonstrate his capacity to drive a team at the top.Vincent Grier (196-G/F-83, college: Minnesota)

*****************************************************

FYR MACEDONIA

Swisslion Pelister beats MZT FON in a friendly game - by Eurobasket NewsSwisslion Pelister celebrated in a friendly game against MZT FON Universitet 81-75. This match was played at basketball gym 'Mladost' in Bitola. MZT FON had impressive beginning. Visitors were on fire creating double digit lead very soon. Until the end of the first frame they already had 14-26. However, it was kind of a signal for the hosts to start playing. Razic and Giorgi Talevski (203-F-76) woke up helping his team to net 25 points in the second stanza. On the other side MZT FON fell on 17 meaning that Pelister came on minus 4 at the half time. Visitors had slightly better third quarter and mostly owing to Held and Radulovic succeeded to extend lead on 5. They couldn't now it at that moment, but that was everything from the visitors in this game. Their defense once again went down, which Pelister exploited to net big 27 points. MZT FON once again stopped on 16 suffering 6-point defeat. Razic top-scored for the winners with 19 points. Giorgi Talevski followed him adding one point less. On the other side Held netted 20 points in MZT FON. Radulovic scored 17 while Filip Kralevski (204-C/F-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza) collected 15 points.

Market News - by Moritz KorffUBC Hannover, newcomer to the 2. Bundesliga Pro B, completed the signing of the former French junior international Yunce Akinocho (198-F-87, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Coll.Sequoias CC). The 21-year-old forward attended the French national talent program INSEP until 2004 and then played for Cholet Basket and Etendard de brest in the following years. During 2007-08 Akinocho, who played the 2003 U16-EURO with the French team, suited up for the College of Sequoias (JUCO).

Brad Harris (191-G-86, college: Lee) has left the CRE Eagles Itzehoe (Regionalliga North) and returned to the USA for personal reasons. The Lee-graduate was supposed to give a spark for the Eagles at the 2/3 position. Coach Paul Larysz has already found a player to replace Harris. His name will be announced in a while.

Paderborn: Tollackson leaves and is replaced by Ensminger - by Moritz Korff

Spencer Tollackson (206-C-85, agency: Warren Sports International, college: Minnesota) and the club-officials of the Paderborn Baskets (1. Bundesliga) have agreed on parting ways effective immediately. The 22-year-old center returns to the US. In the first two games of this Bundesliga-season Tollackson averaged 3 points and 1 rebound. He had graduated from the University of Minnesota earlier this year. In his senior-year the Chaska, Minnesota native had scored 9.3 points per contest for the Golden Gophers.

To replace Tollackson, the Paderborn team sealed the signing of Bundesliga-veteran Chris Ensminger (209-C-73, college: Valparaiso). The 34-year-old center inked a contract for the remainder of the 2008-09 season. The five-time German Allstar and two-time Bundesliga champion spent the past seven years playing for Bamberg. He used to be one of the dominating rebounders of this decade in Germany's first league. During 2007-08 he averaged 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12 Euroleague-matches and 4.9 points as well as 3.5 boards in the Bundesliga (30 contests).

Braves land Pele Paelay - by Moritz KorffPele Paelay (193-G-84, college: Co.Carolina) has joined the teckpro Braves Kaiserslautern (2. Bundesliga Pro A). His debut is set for Friday, when the Braves take on BG Karlsruhe in their season opener. Paelay, 24 years of age, was born in Liberia, but moved to the USA with his family as a boy. He spent his university-career at NCAA Division One's Coastal Carolina College and posted 14.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest as a senior back in 2005-06. The versatile guard/forward made his first experiences as a professional in the CBA (12 games: 15.8ppg, 4.3rpg, 2.1apg as a member of the Great Falls Explorers during this past season). Some months ago he attended the Eurobasket Summer League in Las Vegas and won the competition with Team Monaco.

Reid and Banks part with GV Waltrop - by Moritz KorffAs GV Waltrop (Regionalliga West) announced on its website, the club has decided to waive their two import players Matthew Reid (185-G-84, college: Cameron) and Tezarray Banks (203-F-82, college: Boise St.). Reportedly two new players have already been found. They will be presented soon.The team of coach Omar Rahim started this season with one win and three defeats. In their last game for GV, a 100:102-overtime loss against BG Dorsten on Saturday, Reid had scored 28 points, while Banks had added 24 points.

Interview with Monta Mcghee of Nordlingen Giants - by Miles Schmidt-ScheuberHi Monta, thanks for taking some time to talk to www.eurobasket.com. Nrdlingen won its first two games. How is the small town of Nrdlingen coping with this? Has any madness broken out yet there?

No I would not say madness broken out but the fans are very happy to see the early success of the team and they are hoping more to come....

After preseason ended, did you think the team would start this well into the season with a record of two wins and zero loses?

I think every team feels they will win every game, but everybody knows that will not happen only if you are a GREAT team. So we feel we got a chance in every game we play, because we believe in each other and now we are 2-0.

In the first game, you guys silenced ENBW Ludwigsburg 75 to 56 at home. In this game, you guys outrebounded them 37 to 20 and they shot only 35%. Was this game a first indication, that opponents may have to fear the Nrdlingen defense?

I dont know how each team thinks or feels about us, but I do know we are going to come out every game and play hard no matter who we playing.

It is often common that new regulated teams come into the BBL with a lot of motivation and fighting spirit and are then capable of incredible results. Is the current success of Nrdlingen Basketball that will continue?

I really hope so, because that is what we play the game for. I dont think nobody plasy to lose if so they dont need to playing this game

Many said, Nrdlingen have little chance to stay in the BBL for more than one season and that it has many good individual players, but nothing else. However the team seems to be for real. What is the secret behind the team success so far?

It might be a secret or it might not but I cannot tell everybody that because it will not be a secret.

What is the most important thing the team will have to focus on in the next games?

Everything, because we still have not done nothing but win two games. Its a long season.

You won the second game in Paderborn in spectacular fashion in overtime. What kind of feeling was it leaving the floor as the winner in a very hostle gym?

It was great, because its always good to win a game on the road no matter who your playing.

You guys held Paderborn to 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. The team showed a lot of maturity and togetherness in winning the game like this. How was the team able to win the game in overtime so easily?

I would not say easy, but we just played hard, made shots when we needed to, and got some stops.

How important has the coach Andreas Wagner been in the early success. What has the team learned from him as a coach?

We have learned a lot from him. He is a good coach and I respect everything he is doing to help this team win.

There are high expectations for you and Danny Gibson to perform, but the first two games have had to unsung heroes with Osvaldo Jeanty and Omari Westley who have scored 75 of the 151 Nrdlingen points in the first two games. How important have these guys been and where would Nrdlingen be with out them?

Me being the person I am, I think we would still be 2-0, because we still have other guys who can step up and make something happen. But about me and Danny we will get it together and show people how we play the game.

The team does not have a deep roster like many other BBL teams. Is this something that could come to haunt the team later in the season if injuries or tiredness arrives with the starters?

I never believe in tiredness, because if you want something bad enough you will try your best to get it.

You were the go to guy in Cuxhaven. Do you have added pressure to perform and have good stats in Nrdlingen? What does management expect from you?

I would not say, I was the go to guy in Cuxhaven, but I will say I was the leader of the team. I was around a lot of good players. So we played good together and as far as pressure goes, I dont believe in it.

You were the crowd favourite in Cuxhaven. What do you miss the most from Cuxhaven?

I dont really miss nothing, because I just came to another small town maybe smaller. That is no disrespect to Cuxhaven, but its like the same, because the fans love basketball as much.

What are the biggest differences from Cuxhaven to Nrdlingen?

Like I said before, I dont think there is too much differences between the two. One is up north and the other is in the south.

How do you like Nrdlingen and have you found a sweet place there to escape if you want to be alone?

I can always find time to be alone because all I have to do is lock my doors (lol) and talk on the phone with my little baby Makiyah.

You have been a scorer everywhere where you played. In Denmark and two seasons in Holland, you averaged more than 20 points. In Cuxhaven, you averaged 18,8 points and 9,2 rebounds per game. Can you keep up the trend in the BBL scoring wise?

I really feel its up to me, because if you want to be good only one person can stop you and that is yourself.

You played at Kiswaukee and Lewis college. What were your sweetest memories of playing ball in college?

I came from a Div 2 school which is Lewis Unversity so winning the regular season championship on my home floor on senior night with my family and friends watching me.

Who was the best opponent you played against in college, who might be in the NBA or in Europe now?

I am from Chicago, so I dont want to disrespect anyone because I played against a lot of players that are in the NBA and who are playing Europe.

Your from Chicago. I guess Michael Jordan was your favourite player. What one Basketball trait would you like to get from him?

I dont know because, I try to be myself.

Dunking was something common in your game at Cuxhaven. Your teammate Julis Page also seems to be a great dunker. He once dunked over Oldenburgs Ruben Boumjte Boumjte in college. When will Julius and you have a dunking contest and who would win?

ME...ME...ME...ME...ME...ME...ME...ME

You have a degree in sports management. What would you like to do once your Basketball playing days are over?

I think I might go into coaching because I feel I am a smart player and I want to help other people feel the way I do right now with basketball.

What player in the BBL are you looking forward to playing against?

To be honest, I dont go looking who is in the league or not. I just go out ready to play.

When you have an off day from Basketball, what do you usually like to do?

Hang out with the team and most importantly talk to my little baby girl Makiya

Monta thanks for the chat and continued good luck with Nrdlingen this season!!!!!

*****************************************************

HUNGARY

Market news - by Tamas DeriAfter releasing Calvin Bowman (206-F/C-77, college: W.Virginia) the management of Sopron did not hesitate too long and signed american big man Justin Johnson (203-F-83, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: St.Louis) for a tryout. The 203 cm tall player graduated on the University of St. Louis. He played his first pro-season in the ABA where he averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Dombovar decided not to keep Drew Gibson (188-G-85, college: Wofford), Michael Jones (206-F/C-82, college: Arkansas) and Cory Abercrombie (201-F/C, agency: Warren Sports International, college: Independence CC) on the roster for the upcoming season, the players left already the town. The management of DKC just signed american guard Jerome LaGrange (192-G-78, college: Livingstone), who used to play his first professional season for the team. American guard arrived today to Dombovar and will have his first practice tomorrow under coach Stahl. Moore Christopher (205-F-82, college: Virginia Union) can be the right player under the rim. The 205 cm tall big man played in 2005-06 for CSKA Sofia and averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game. Since than he played in the Middle-East and Korea, but now he agreeded with the club's offer and will arrive next week to Hungary.

Michael Jones had not to wait too long to get a new job and signed a contract with ZTE KK. American power forward had a very nice game vs. ZTE KK on sunday in the anniversary Gocsej-Cup, and after releasing Ryan DeMichael the management decided to invite Jones for a tryout.

Logi Gunnarsson signs for Njardvik after 6 years abroad - by Einar JohannssonNational team combo guard Logi Gunnarsson (190-G-81, agency: CAA Sports) is signing for UMFN Njardvik tonight after six years playing abroad. Logi played for Farho Gijon in LEB Silver Spain last season.

UMFN Njardvik won the championship both 2001 and 2002 with Logi but have only won the championship once (2006) since so bringing Gunnarsson back is a great addition to the club as they lost 8 players of the roster from last season. Gunnarsson started his professional career with ULM in Germany back in 2002 in 2nd Bundesliga and then played for Giessen 46ers in Bundesliga for two years. He then moved back to 2nd Bundesliga and played for BBC Bayreuth 2005-2006 and for ToPo Helsinki the year after. Gunnarsson has been a key player for the national team for many years.

As Eurobasket said before UMFN Njardvik signed Heath Sitton (186-G-85, agency: IceBasket) as playmaker for the team this season and also Slobodan Subasic (191-G-79), guard who played for Snaefell last year. Club is also looking for bosman forward to complete the roster. Earlier in the summer club signed Magnus Gunnarson (184-G-81) from Keflavik. The shooter is the captain of national team and has been very successfull with the rival team Keflavik in the past.Captain of the team, Fridrik Stefansson (204-F/C-76, college: Jacksonville) is also back - he missed out on playoffs last season cause of sickness.

Keflavik, champions of last year in Iceland Express are on their way to finish the roster for the season. Recently they signed Steve Dagostino (180-G-85, agency: Interperformances) (180-G-85, agency: Interperformances), playmaker from St Rose who had great senior year last season. Earlier in the summer they signed Hordul Vilhjalmsson (-G-88) who played last season with rivals UMFN Njardvik.Vilhjalmsson then signed for Melina in LEB gold but was released earlier this month so he has deceided to play for Keflavik this season.

Dagostino & Vilhjalmsson along with Sverir Sverrisson (186-G-75) will take care of controlling the offense of Keflavik team this season.Keflavik will then add american in the next few days, most likely to finalise the roster of the team for the season - with key player such as Gunnar Einarsson (190-G-77), Jon Hafsteinsson (196-F-81), Sigurdur Thorsteinsson (203-C-88) and Trostur Johannsson (199-F-89) ready for another season with the champions.

Coach of Keflavik is Sigurdur Ingimundarson , also national team coach. This will be his 11th year as coach of Keflavik.

Keflavik will start the season home against Thor Akureyri on the 17th of october.

Tindastoll has signed 3 foreigners for upcoming season - by Einar JohannssonTindastoll have signed 3 foreigners for upcoming season. They got Ben Luber (183-G-84) as a point guard of the team, then signed Soren Flaeng (207-C-85, agency: Rasmussen Services) as 5man and now they have signed Michael Bonaparte (196-F-82, agency: Weller Sports - Entertainment, college: Coll.of the Ozarks) who was the forward and import player of the year in Ireland last season. Luber is USA/Israel point guard on his first year as pro and Flaeng came from Denmark, where he is part of Denmark national team roster.With this addition coach Kristinn Fridriksson has put together a solid team including Svavar Birgisson, Helgi Rafn Viggosson, Isak Einarsson and Fridrik Hreinsson who will come back home after playing some years away, last season with Armann in 1 division.Tindastoll will start the season in Iceland Express league on the 17th of october against Snfell away.

*****************************************************

ITALY

Giovanni Rugolo joins Casale Monferrato - by Stefano BennyTo replace the injured Andrea Ghiacci, Fastweb Junior Casale Monferrato signed Giovanni Rugolo (194-G-81, agency: Players Group), who recently made a try-out with the team. Last year Rugolo played in serie B for Porto Torres and scored 12 points for game. Previously, he was in Reggio Calabria's roster for many years: in 2006-2007, he played for this time in Legadue and scored 6,7 points for game. Rugolo will be available for the first championship game, against Enel Brindisi.

*****************************************************

JAMAICA

Knights to face Slayers in final game - by Leonard WhyteDefending champions, Urban Knights, will try to make history on Thursday when they face former champions and nemesis, St. George's Slayers, in the final game of the second round in the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)/National Basketball League (NBL) at the National Stadium courts beginning at 7:45 pm. Knights, presently 21-0, will be gunning to end the regular season with a perfect 22-0 record, a feat that has never been done. In their most recent game, the champions behind 19 points from Omar Barnes and 17 from Fernando Young, trounced Blazing Panthers 85-69. In other games played Portmore Flames defeated Majestic Gardens 76-70 and Port Royal Bulls beat Portmore Flames 66-51.

ASK Riga earn second victory in LBL - by Eurobasket NewsASK Riga drew things level with Ventspils in the LBL ladder as they improved to 2-0 record. ASK Riga prevailed against Valmiera in a dramatic clash in Latvian capital. The teams entered the game with a win apiece and hoped to keep their record spotless. The sides looked well-matched throughout the opening period trading the baskets. ASK Riga led by just one point 28:27 after the starting quarter. However Valmiera never refused to fight and kept it close in the second frame. The visitors even managed to pull ahead to take a 44:43 lead at halftime. However Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) and Ricardo Marsh (203-F-81, agency: Edge Sports, college: ODU) allowed ASK Riga retained the lead after the long break. The hosts were back in the driving seat accumulating a 2-point lead before the fourth term. ASK Riga grabbed a 6-point advantage late in the stanza. However Valmiera once again refused to fold. They trimmed the deficit to a single point 83:84. ASK Riga proved cold-blooded in the dying seconds and ensured a narrow 88:86 victory at the end. Ricardo Marsh nailed 20 points to pace the home team. Uvis Helmanis (204-F-72, agency: Stanley International) and Corey Brewer dropped 18 points apiece for ASK Riga. Ronald Clark (196-G-81, college: Colorado St.) exploded with 38 points and 9 rebounds for Valmiera. Ingus Bankevics (195-G/F-85) notched 17 points in the loss. ASK/Buki dropped the third straight game at the start of the new season. This time they came up short against Zemgale 86:88 at home. The hosts enjoyed a 44:43 advantage at halftime and stretched the margin to 6 points before the fourth term. But Zemgale denied the difference and surged ahead for the win late in the encounter. Ilmars Bergmanis (185-G-81) secured 22 points, 6 assists and 5 boards for Zemgale. Matiss Rozitis (191-F-84) added 18 points in the win. Edmunds Gabrans (190-G-79) knocked down 22 points, pulled down 7 rebounds and dished out 8 assists for ASK/Buki.

*****************************************************

LEBANON

Jason McCoy Come to Lebanon - by Richard This is a Big time move for Tebnine, Lebanon the addition of forward American Jason McCoy (208-F/C, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee), will be in Lebanon for a short tryout.: As a two-year starter at NCAA Division I University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, McCoy helped lead the Panthers to consecutive Horizon League championships and 45 wins and only 13 losses. During his time there, he not only led the Panthers in blocked shots and was second in rebounds, but was instrumental in leading them to two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances including a berth in the 'Sweet Sixteen.'McCoy saved his best for big games: against Missouri State in an ESPN 'Bracket Buster Game', he scored 10 points, pulled down 8 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists and against Butler in the Horizon League Championship, he scored 8 points and dished out 7 assists. McCoy is a first-rate athlete. He is long, fast, and powerful. He runs the break with ease and is an impressive finisher in the open court employing a wide array of powerful dunks. He has a sound up-and-under move and an effective spin dribble, which he employs regularly in the half court. He is also an enforcer on the offensive glass. It is on defense however, that McCoy changes the game. He is always assigned to match up with opponents' top scoring forwards and centers. His timing on defense is near impeccable and he has an uncanny ability to block and redirect shots, forcing his opponents to avoid driving to the basket. McCoy's athleticism and defense prowess make him a valuable addition to any professional team on any level. His achievements include Horizon League Regular Season Champion -2005, 2006 Horizon League Tournament Winner -2005, 2006 Lead Team in Block Shots -3rd in Conf Blocked Shots NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Professional Career : 2005 was drafted to NBA D League Alb Thunderbirds but was released in December 2005. Montenegrin Cup Semifinals 2006/07 Montenegrin League Semifinals 2006/07 Eurobasket.com Montenegrin League All-Imports Team 2006/07. In 2007 Played at Turkey ITU TBL2 and contract was bought out to join Divsion 1 NBL Czech Club BC Kolin where he was a Czech All-Star & Dunk Contest Runner-up 2008. MCoy has a 46inch vertical & a 7'6 arm wingspan. In Czech NBL he ranked in Top 10 in over 20 categories. McCoy became an Allstar in just 1/2 season and led team in all in 66.4% 2pt conversions & shoots 38.5% from 3pt range. McCoy can do it all & Welcome to Lebanon!

My expectations are to make a positive difference for the team and the community. I'm sure there will be an adjustment phase, but I've done everything I can to make sure that physically and mentally I'm ready to go from day one.

So far in college, Christensen has played positions 1 to 4, and is comfortable in any.

The important thing is that I'm playing, so wherever the coach feels I can best help the team, I'm there.

NAIA rules stop Kentucky Bisons/Brescia University exhibition - by Eurobasket NewsThe ABA Kentucky Bisons had scheduled an exhibition game against Owensboro's own Brescia University Bearcats. Unfortunately, the NAIA rules have put a stop to the game. Much to the surprise of Brescia Coach Joe Pechota after agreeing to the game, he discovered that playing the Bisons would put the team over the limit of 32 total games for the season. NAIA rules only give teams two (2) exhibition games and the Bearcats had previously locked those in with other teams.

Officials at the Kentucky Bisons stated that they already had a Plan B and the charity game would go on as scheduled. They announced that they would be playing an exhibition game against another ABA expansion team, the West Virginia Outlaws. The Outlaws are a solid team with players like former NBA player and East Tennessee State forward 6'11 Greg Dennis, WVU player Lionel Armstead, 7'0' Ernest Vickers and former Kentucky Mr. Basketball, J.R. VanHoose.

The game will be played at the Owenboro SportsCenter on October 12th and the doors open at 12noon. The team is hosting a 'corn hole' tournament with all of the proceeds going to the local Boys & Girls Club. At the gate, there is a charity drive for the Tri-State Food Bank, the event is free, any donations will be greatly appreciated.

Donations over $5 will get you in a drawing to win tickets and other prizes. The Owensboro City Police will also be there to offer finger printing for the children through their child safety program and everyone is invited to attend. For more information, please call 270 782 7556 or email david@kentuckybisons.com or visit www.kentuckybisons.com or www.abalive.com.

Mateen Cleaves spent some time in 07/08 pre-season with New Jersey Ntes and later joined Greek team Panionios Athens. After only 9 games the team released him but very soon he agreed terms with D-League team Bakersfield Jam. In 15 games Cleaves averaged 19 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 10.3 apg and 2.3 spg. In the past he used to play for UNICS Kazan, Seattle Supersonics, Huntsville Flight, Cleveland, Sacramento and Detroit. He was originally 14th overall pick on 2000 NBA Draft selected by Detroit Pistons.

Nick Fazekas had not so brilliant rookie NBA season splitting with Dallas and LA Lakers. His average digits were 4.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg in 26 NBA games. He was 34th overall pick on the last year's NBA draft selected by Dallas Maverics.

James Mays came out of Clemson this year with 9.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 1.7 apg during the four years. His best achievement with Clemson was NCAA tournament this year.

William Parker is experienced NBA player, who changed many teams in the past. Some of the most important are Cleveland, Detroit, Phoenix, L.A. Lakers, Miami and the L.A. Clippers. He appeared in 274 NBA games in total averaging 9 ppg, 2.9 apg and 2.4 rpg.

Ruben Patterson already was member of Denver Nuggets on season 05/06 having 26 appearances. Patterson played 649 NBA games during his career registering 10.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 1.8 apg. He used to play for Lakers, Supersonics, Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Bucks and Clippers.

Reyshawn Terry was 44th overall pick on 2007 NBA Draft selected by Dallas Mavericks. He played the last season for Greek team Aris Thessaloniki adding 8.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 1.4 spg in 19 Euroleague games. His digits were a little bit lower in Greek A1 league as well as in the play-off. Terry played for the Mavericks on NBA Summer Lague in Las Vegas this year. He came out of North Carolina in 2007 having 9.7 ppg and 5.4 rpg in 06/07. Interesting is that his first year with NCU was a way better, 14.3 ppg and 6.2 rpg in 31 games.

Charles Rhodes (2.03-PF) played for Mississipi State last season averaging 17.4 ppg 7.8 rpg and 1.4 bpg in 31 games. Rhodes finished his career as 11th ranked all-time in points (1,451) and rebounds (691), and sixth in blocks (143).

JaJuan Smith (6'2''-G-85, agency: Court Side) is another college graduate. He is known as one of the best 3-point shooters in the history of the NCAA. As a member of Tennessee Volunteers he added 14.4 ppg, 2.3 apg and 3.7 rebounds in 36 games last season. During his 4 years with Tennessee he accumulated 253 triples.

Cheyne Gadson started last season in Italian team Armani Jeans but in November moved to D-League Austin Toros. In March he was traded to Albuquerque Thunderbirds, where he had 17.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 4.1 apg in 7 games.

More penalties for Indiana University? - by Eurobasket NewsThe Indiana University men's basketball program has already taken some big hits from its NCAA infractions case. More could come within a month.

In the school's response to the latest NCAA allegation, that it failed to monitor coach Kelvin Sampson, university officials argued the self-imposed penalties have been strong enough even though they are bracing for additional sanctions from the phone-call scandal that rocked the school's signature program.

'The university recognizes that a probationary period will likely be imposed and suggests that it begin on the date of the (June) hearing,' the report said.

It's unclear whether the university anticipates a postseason or television ban. But, clearly, Indiana believes the infractions committee will hand down harsher punishment.

The case stems from more than 100 impermissible phone calls made by Sampson and his staff, and the accusation that Sampson provided false and misleading testimony to investigators. Sampson has repeatedly denied providing false and misleading testimony and said he was unaware the phone calls were not allowed under the probation he incurred for a similar scandal at OU.

'In no way did I ever hide or withhold information from Indiana University's compliance department. I vehemently deny the inference that I made and concealed impermissible calls,' Sampson said in a released statement.

Courtesy of http://www.tulsaworld.com

Josh Brinkley coming to University of Delaware - by Eurobasket NewsHe started played basketball when he was 12, and began taking it seriously when he was a high school sophomore.

Then Josh Brinkley realized something.

Brinkley knew he was talented enough to earn a college scholarship.

'So before my 11th-grade year, I started lifting weights and working harder on my all-around game,' he said.

The University of Delaware is poised to benefit from that diligence, as Brinkley said Tuesday he had informed UD coaches he had accepted their scholarship offer.

Brinkley is a 6-foot-6 senior power forward from Douglas Freeman High in Richmond, Va., the heart of Colonial Athletic Association country.

Brinkley had verbally committed to the Blue Hens in July, then, in discussions with his family, decided he needed more time.

He took a closer look at some other schools, particularly Hampton, as well as Robert Morris and Quinnipiac, before settling on Delaware again.

'I'm sure this time,' he said. 'I just needed to get a feel for different colleges.'

Brinkley is the third high school senior to commit to Delaware recently, joining Devon Saddler, a 6-2 combination guard from Aberdeen (Md.) and 6-6 swingman Malcolm Hawkins of Norview (Virginia Beach, Va.).

They may sign letters of intent later this fall.

Delaware still has two more scholarships available, though it may carry one over to the 2010 high school class. The UD staff is also recruiting Keion Palmer, a 6-9 center at South Miami (Fla.) who is also considering Tulsa, Tulane and High Point.

Brinkley took an unofficial (self-paid) visit to UD in the summer, and came back for an official (university-paid) visit last weekend.

'It was a great environment, and they've got the best coaching staff,' Brinkley said. 'When I took my official visit, I just felt welcomed.'

On court, Brinkley enjoys the tussles commonplace around the basket, and knows he will encounter plenty in CAA play.

'I can step out, but I do most of my work on the inside,' said Brinkley, who had 16 points and seven rebounds per game and plenty of blocked shots for Douglas Freeman last season. 'It's going to be a lot of competition, but I'll be ready for it.'

Captains named: Junior guard Brian Johnson and senior forward Jim Ledsome have been named captains of the UD men's basketball team for the 2008-09 season.

Courtesy of http://www.delawareonline.com

*****************************************************

NCAA3

MBB alum Brandon Gatlin signs professional contract - by Moritz KorffFormer University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball player Brandon Gatlin (5'10''-G-83, college: Mary Hardin Baylor) has become the second former member of the Cru to sign a professional basketball contact this year. Gatlin, a point guard for the UMHB men from 2002-2006, signed a one-year contract with KB-Peja of the Kosovo Super League in Peja, Kosovo. Gatlin will leave later this week and the KB-Peja season will run through April. He spent parts of the past two years playing in the United States Basketball League (USBL).

Gatlin was a four-year letterman for the Cru from Round Rock McNeil High School. He was a two-time ASC All-West Division selection and averaged 13.4 points per game in 89 career games with UMHB. Gatlin also dished off 328 career assists to finish among UMHB's career leaders in that category.

AZS Koszalin added to their roster two import players: 21-year old American guard Ramar Smith (188-G-87, college: Tennessee, agency: Hart Sports Mngm) and experienced 37-years old Nigerian power forward/center Ime Oduok (203-F/C-71, college: Loyola Marymount). Smith played most recently at University of Tennessee (NCAA) in the NCAA where he helped his team to make it to win SEC Eastern Division Regular Season Championship and then make it to the SEC Tournament Semifinals. Tennessee was last two years in NCAA Sweet 16, which confirms it's one of most respected teams in U.S. college. It will be Smith's first year in professional basketball. Oduok is well-known in Poland as he played last season at JKKS Gornik Walbrzych, where in 16 games he averaged 6.4ppg and 6.3rpg. He has quite extensive career ahile he played already in the States (college), Spain, Philippines, Italy, Bosnia, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Chile and last two seasons in Poland.

FUTA court wears new look ahead Intercollegiate Tourney - by Olusegun IkuesanThe basketball court of Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) is wearing a new look thanks to the effort of First Deepwater discovery Limited ahead the first Intercollegiate competition involving higher Institutions in Ondo and Ekiti States.

According to the supervisor in-charge of the rehabilitation of the court, Coach Andrew Isokpehi that the repair on the court has neared advanced stage.

The head coach of Sunshine Angels basketball club of Akure says he is excited about the progress of work on the facility in FUTA, and that the new look status of the court will enhance the competition.

The former Ebun Comets basketball club coach is optimistic that the Intercollegiate involving higher institutions in Ondo and Ekiti States.

He praised Engr. Babatunde Babalola Managing Director of First Deepwater Discovery Limited for not forgetting his Alma-Mata by sponsoring the intercollegiate championship.

Babalola is positive that the tournament will achieve it desired result of bringing students of higher institution of learning together in the two states that made up the old Ondo State.

The tournament is billed for the open court of FUTA this month.

*****************************************************

PARAGUAY

San Jose upsets Sol de America - by Gianni PascucciThe last round of the Quadrangolar was an easy job (as it was exoected) for Libertad, winner over UAA 106-67, but was an hard fight for both Sol de America and Deportivo San Jose, battling for the second place in the table. Their meeting ended 97-95 for San Jose, after an overtime. Jamal Nichols (206-F-83, college: De Paul) was another time more very good in Sol de America, ending the game at 30 points, but it wasn' t enough, San Jose answered with 27 pts from Marcus Watts (204-F/C-83, college: Florida Gulf Coast) and 26 from Gustavo Torres (175-G-80), and now has the home advantage in the special series that will label the challenger of Libertad in the Clausura Finals. This play off wil be best of three games, and Game 1 will be played tonight in Asuncion. The final standings of Quadrangolar were:1. Libertad 12 points, 2. Deportivo San Jose 10 pts, 3. Sol de America 9,50 pts, 4. Universidad Autonoma de Asuncion 6 pts.

*****************************************************

PHILIPPINES

Red Lions bag NCAA crown for third time - by Eurobasket NewsThe San Beda Red Lions secured an historic 'three-peat' in the men's basketball tournament of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) of the Philippines, following an 85-69 victory over the Jose Rizal Heavy Bombers in the third and final game of the finals series.

Nigerian Sam Ekwe spearheaded his side to the win, controlling the interior with his dominant power play en route to finishing with a monster stat-line of 20 points and 19 rebounds. The regular season Most Valuable Player also swatted away three shots in the game, while playing 36 minutes in the decisive championship contest.

The Lions raced out to a 24-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, and maintained a 38-29 advantage heading into the break. They then extended the cushion once more to 64-48 at the end of three periods, and virtually closed out the win matching the Bombers point for point in the last canto to seal their third straight title.

Ekwe wasn't the only Lion to come out with strong performances. Another four players scored in double figures. Ogie Menor finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in the contest despite committing six turnovers, while Jake Pascual added 13, and John Paul Escobal and John Carlos Hermida each contributed 11.

Courtesy of http://www.gulf-daily-news.com

Wanted 7-foot foreign player for RP Nat'l Team - Must be willing to naturalized - by Hector SantosThe Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has given its full support to the proposal to reinforce the national team with a tall foreign player, preferably standing around 7 feet.

PBA chairman Joaqui Trillo and PBA Commissioner Sonny Barrios both said yesterday that this step is to support the proposal of national basketball coach Yeng Guiao who said that a tall player is needed so the RP team can be competitive.

The foreign player will then be asked to undergo naturalization, a process which had been used with varying degrees of success by other nations.

'He (Guiao) has our (PBA board) full support. If he wants a 7-footer, well give that to him,' Trillo said during a press conference at the Diamond Hotel in Manila.

Guiao had earlier reiterated his desire to naturalize a foreign player for his team to have a fighting chance to compete against the tall players of other countries.

'We dont know yet the process for naturalization, but all I know is that we must get a big man,' Guiao said.

Using naturalized players is not new, as far as the Philippines is concerned.

In the 80s, when the Philippines campaigned in the Asian circuit, the basketball association not only hired an American coach in the person of Ron Jacobs, but also three Americans who helped the country win the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC).

The Americans did not lose their citizenship and had since returned to their homeland.

In another departure from previous practice, Guiao said he would no longer call for a tryout to select the members of the team, instead he would simply name the members of the pool that will train for next years FIBA-Asia Championship.

'The only thing that would stop me from choosing the players is that if they do not want to adapt to the system,' said the 46-year-old coach of Red Bull, who did not specify the system he planned to use.

'Im very excited to do that (coaching superstar players). We have the best talent in the PBA, theres no question with that. As what the commissioner (Sonny Barrios) said, the sooner, the better (to form the team),' he added.

Guiao said he hopes to have a dialogue first with his prospects before making any decision.

The Red Bull coach has earned a reputation as a miracle worker for transforming the Bulls into a contender despite having no established stars in the lineup.

He has led the Bulls to the semifinal round in the past three seasons using underrated materials. His best player is high-flying guard Cyrus Baguio, one of the young rising stars of the pro league.

But while Guiao can already name the members of the pool, he can only go full swing as far as preparation is concerned only at the end of the season.

The PBA begins with the all-Filipino Philippine Cup on Saturday, while the import-flavored Fiesta Cup is set in March until first week of July. The FIBA-Asia is scheduled in September.

This gives Guiao and his soon-to-be-formed national team three months to prepare and train for the said event, the qualifying meet for the World Championships in 2010 in Turkey.

Three slots would be allotted to the top three finishers in the Asian region for the World Championships.(MB)

*****************************************************

POLAND

Atlas Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski sign Roberto Nieves - by Eurobasket Atlas Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski agreed terms with 26-year old Puerto Rican guard Roberto Nieves (194-G-82, college: Valparaiso, agency: Paris Global Sports). Nieves played most recently at Grises de Humacao (Puerto Rico). Nieves used to play for Puerto Rican U21 national team. He spend all his career playing in pro league in Puerto Rico. Last season he was selected to play in prestiguous Puerto Rican BSN All-Star Game. Puerto Ricans are known as very solid players in Polish League.

AZS Koszalin sign Nigerian and American players - by Eurobasket

AZS Koszalin added to their roster two import players: 21-year old American guard Ramar Smith (188-G-87, college: Tennessee, agency: Hart Sports Mngm) and experienced 37-years old Nigerian power forward/center Ime Oduok (203-F/C-71, college: Loyola Marymount). Smith played most recently at University of Tennessee (NCAA) in the NCAA where he helped his team to make it to win SEC Eastern Division Regular Season Championship and then make it to the SEC Tournament Semifinals. Tennessee was last two years in NCAA Sweet 16, which confirms it's one of most respected teams in U.S. college. It will be Smith's first year in professional basketball. Oduok is well-known in Poland as he played last season at JKKS Gornik Walbrzych, where in 16 games he averaged 6.4ppg and 6.3rpg. He has quite extensive career ahile he played already in the States (college), Spain, Philippines, Italy, Bosnia, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Chile and last two seasons in Poland.

BASCO Slask Wroclaw sign Jonny Reibel - by Eurobasket

BASCO Slask Wroclaw added to their roster 22-year old American guard Jonny Reibel (188-G-86, college: Rollins). Reibel played most recently at Rollins College in NCAA Division II. He had quite good stats (28 games: 20.0ppg, 4.8rpg, 7.2apg) and was one of the most awarded players in second division. Reibel was selected to NCAA Division II All-Star Game, and awarded NCAA D2 All-America Honorable Mention (by Division II Bulletin) and NCAA D2 All-America Team (by NABC). It will be his first year in professional basketball.

*****************************************************

PORTUGAL

Romero Junior goes to Figueira - by Luis RochaCoach Sergio Salvador , decided to add Romero Junior (200-F-74) to the roster. Romero that was champion last season Playing for Fisica is a hard working player that can play at 4 or even 5. he can shoot from outside the arch, good passing skills, nice foot work, but can still improve on his upper body strenght, to help him when he needs to be inside the paint and fight to get rebounds. Hes undesize to play close to the basket , but his nice passes and ability to shoot makes him a tough cookie to all opponents.

Galitos signed Tim Bush - by Bruno BaltazarGalitos replaced their american forward Joseph Jack (206-F/C, college: Southern) that returned to USA last Friday because the player did not showed the skills and quality the coaching staff needed and wanted.The player they chosed is Tim Bush (198-F-83, college: Baylor) ,in college he did his senior year in 2006-2007: Baylor (NCAA): 26 games: 6.3ppg, 4.0rpg, FGP: 49.1%, 3Pts: 37.2%, FT: 70.5%After that he was drafted to play in the development league of the NBA,last seasoned he played in the 2nd Australian division for Rockingham Flames,averaging 22pts,10.3rebounds in 27 games.He has a good body,24 years old ,1,99m and 105kg.He will play near the basket.

*****************************************************

PUERTO RICO

Atlas Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski sign Roberto Nieves - by Eurobasket Atlas Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski agreed terms with 26-year old Puerto Rican guard Roberto Nieves (194-G-82, college: Valparaiso, agency: Paris Global Sports). Nieves played most recently at Grises de Humacao (Puerto Rico). Nieves used to play for Puerto Rican U21 national team. He spend all his career playing in pro league in Puerto Rico. Last season he was selected to play in prestiguous Puerto Rican BSN All-Star Game. Puerto Ricans are known as very solid players in Polish League.

*****************************************************

SERBIA

A1 league: Rosters for season 2008/09 - by Dragan JankovskiSerbian A1 league begins today. Below are the rosters of all teams - participants for season 2008/09. Swisslions Takovo and Mega Hypo Leasing are the main candidates for top while newcomer Metalac Valjevo and Napredak Krusevac are possible surprises. Three best teams will advance to Superleague, where together with five Serbian teams which compete in Adriatic league will fight for the title. Two last ranked teams will be relegated to B league (maybe 3, if Serbia looses one place in Adriatic league 09/10).

Djuric moved from Montenegro to Romania - by Zoran PopovicSrdjan Djuric (183-G-74, agency: Beo Basket) signed contract with Romanian team BCMUS Arges Pitesti .In season 2007-2008 Djuric played for BC Ulcinjska Rivijera and od 22 games average scored 12.4 points and 4.1 assistants. Srdjan Djuric played for lot of Serbian and European teams. Djuric started career in Iva Zorka Sabac and played for them in seasons 1995-1996 and 1997-1998, played for Radnicki Beograd in season 1996-1997, Spartak Subotica 1998-2000. Season 2000-2001 Djuric started in Borac Cacak, in January 2001 signed for Lovcen Cetinje and in April same year moved to Ulker Istanbul to the end of season. Djuric also played for NIS Vojvodina in season 2001-2002, Lavovi 063 Beograd 2002-2003, in season 2003-2004 moved to Ukraine in Khimik Yuzhny, season 2004-2005 spend in Germany and played for BS Energy Braunschweig and from February 2005 in KK Igokea Aleksandrovac. In Serbian league Djuric came back in season 2005-2006 and signed for Napredak Krusevac, but next season moved in Switzerland and played for Meyrin Grand-Saconnex Basket. Srdjan Djuric was member of Yugoslavian U22 National team.

Crvena Zvezda outplays Lukoil Akademik in Pirot - by Dragan JankovskiIn the last check before the beginning of Adriatic league, Crvena Zvezda was better than Bulgarian powerhouse Lukoil Akademik 79-73. The game was played in Pirot, native town of Zvezda's head coach Svetislav Pesic. Belgrade's team had magnificent first quarter, especially at the defensive end. Red-and-whites let Bulgarians to net only 9 points for 10 minutes while they drained 23. It is interesting but Lukoil wasn't able seriously to treat until the end of the game, despite it was slightly better in the other three quarters. At the very end Marko Marinovic (183-G-83) was focused keeping Lukoil on minus 6. American Andre Owens (192-G-80, college: Houston) scored 21 points for the wining team. Second American Lawrence Roberts (205-F/C-82, college: Mississippi St.) also was good having 16 points. Young prospect Marko Keselj (206-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) was the last one with double figures in Zvezda adding 11 points. Bulgarian champion got 14 points from Hristo Nikolov (200-F-85). Its top star Todor Stoykov (198-G/F-77, agency: Interperformances) stopped on 9 points. Ex member of Crvena Zvezda Antonio Burks (183-G-80, agency: Court Side, college: Memphis) contributed with 8 points. The only Serbian this season in Lukoil, power forward Nenad Canak (204-F-76, agency: Beo Basket) had 3 points.

Before this game Crvena Zvezda's second team met the local team Pirot loosing 80-81. Zvezda's youngsters will compete this season in Serbian B league.

*****************************************************

SLOVAKIA

SKP Banska Bystrica inks Ivan Skara - by Eurobasket NewsNewcomer to Slovakian Extraliga SKP Banska Bystrica announced signing of Croatian power forward Ivan Skara (204-F-82, college: Cleveland St. CC). 26-year old player spent last season in Greek team Xanthi BF Fashion. He had 29 appearances in A2 averaging 6.8 ppg and 5.1 rpg. It was his second season in Xanthi as he joined the team in 2006. Before Greece, Ivan Skara used to play in Croatian A2 team Jazine Zadar. Season 03/04 he spent in Cleveland State Community College. He will be the second foreigner in SKP Banska Bystrica next season.

During the summer the team agreed terms with Eduard Znanec (205-F/C-76), who arrived from Chemosvit. Vladimir Hovanak (194-G-82) from Spisska Nova Ves and Peter Pipiska (197-G/F-84), who spent the last season in Handlova also joined Banska Bystrica. One of the last team's signings was Martin Rendla, ex player of Nitra, and Jozef Krajco (195-F-83) from Lucenec. The good news is that Ondrej Kacani (191-F-82) also decided to activate after thee-years without the professional basketball. He played previous pro-season for SPU Nitra (04/05). First foreigner which SKP Banska Bystrica inked this summer is Belorussian player Dmitri Akulich (190-G-86, agency: AB Agency). Ex member of Belarussian U18 and U20 National Team played last two seasons in BK Minsk 2006. He also has experience form Ukrainian league as a member Budivelnik Kyiv.

*****************************************************

SPAIN

Navarro Sidelined and Tau Win Basque Derby Friendly - by Paul NilsenBarcelona have been rocked by news that Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) will be sidelined for two weeks after damaging his left leg in what will be a real blow ahead of a tricky opener this weekend against local rivals DKV Joventut writes www.acb-basket.com. However at least Barca can console themselves that Ricky Rubio is also likely to miss the game for Badalona through injury too.

Almost 7,000 fans were in the Fernando Buesa Arena in Vitoria-Gasteiz to watch Tau Ceramica in a Basque derby game with Bruesa GBC. The home team continued their impressive pre-season form with a convincing 103-83 success to win the Alava Trophy thanks mainly to 23 points from Wil McDonald who has enjoyed a rejuvenation under Dusko Ivanovic.

Notably Tau have been playing well despite being without the services of star player Tiago Splitter and that bodes well for the new season. Fernando San Emeterio and Pete Mikeal both scored 16 points and 15 points respectively coming off the bench while Bruesa have looked weak without veteran Lou Roe and as although he returned after his injury lay-off it was a tentative Bruesa that never threatened to win this game after having led at the end of the first quarter.

Regal F.C. Barcelona inks Daniel Santiago - by Natxo MendazaRegal F.C. Barcelona officially confirmed that Daniel Santiago (216-C-76, agency: Priority Sports, college: N.Mexico) will reinforce the team in season 2008-09. Santiago, who spent the last three seasons in Unicaja Malaga, shall undergo the usual medical tests in the next days after joining team practices. Santiago will fill the gap that Mario Kasun left in Barcelona's roster this summer. Santiago averaged 9.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game in ACB while he stayed in Malaga.

*****************************************************

SWEDEN

Big man rotation in the league - by Frankie AfzeliusLast years MVP is not staying in with the finalist Sundsvall Dragons. Joakim Kjellbom (213-C/F-79, college: N.Arizona) has chosen to sign with Swedish rivals Norrkoping Dolphins. His motivation for this is that he wants to get the European experience against international teams with Norrkping, who is playing in the Baltic Basketball League this season. Understandable since Kjellboms dream has been a European contract for the many years now. This allows him to show his skill on a bigger stage. This gives Sundsvall a gap in the middle which will be hard to fill. They might have to go a different path and replacing US guard Antonio Kellogg with a Swedish or European guard and bring in a US center to fill up in the middle.

Uppsala Basket is continuing with the Balkan signings. After signing Midaugas Budzinauska for a contract with a 10 day try out option, they are brining in another Lithuanian. Giedrius Jankauskas (206-F/C-81) is an experienced center that has played both in Lithuania and Latvia. He also has experience from the Baltic Basketball League. Jankauskas a talented offensive minded center with good skills on the defensive end as well. He will be a major asset to fill the middle with previous signee Marco Djuric who came over from Jamtland

*****************************************************

SWITZERLAND

Results of Swiss Cup 1/32 finals, 1/16 schedule - by Eurobasket NewsBelow are the results of Swiss Cup 1/32 finals as well as the schedule of 1/16 finals.

Opfikon Basket (LR)Poly-Rapid Zrich Wildcats (LNB)66-87

BBC Cossonay (1LN)Etoile Sportive Vernier Meyrin (LNB)53-71

TV Muttenz Basket (LR)BC Arlesheim (LR)51-105

LK Zug Basket (1LN)Phoenix Basket Regensdorf (1LN)76-98

BBC Collombey-Muraz (1LN)Vevey Riviera Basket (LNB)70-80

RE/MAX Morges Basket (1LN)Colas Bernex Basket (LNB)71-90

BC Epalinges/Palinzard (LR)Fiat Chne BC (LNB)86-73

Breganzona Basket Club (1LN)Star Gordola (1LN)72-82

BC Buchrain-Ebikon (LR)Luzern Lions (LNB)35-98

Barbengo Basket (LR)BC Denti Della Vecchia-Lugano (1LN)83-65

Lions Carouge Basket (LR)Pages Jaunes Pully Basket (LNB)77-103

Echallens BBC (1LN)Genve Basket Pquis-Seujet (1LN)54-79

Sion Basket (1LN)Renens Basket (1LN)80-62

Bulle Basket (1LN)La Chaux-de-Fonds Basket (1LN)79-67

Hnibasket (LR)Villars Basket (LNB)79-96

BC Alstom Baden (LR)BC Infina Korac Zrich (LNB)75-92

STB Bern Basket (1LN)BC Olten-Zofingen (1LN)81-80 ap (70-70)

CVJM Frauenfeld (LR)BC Ksnacht-Erlenbach (LR)54-69

BBC Courtepin (LR)Union Neuchtel Basket (LNB)42-112

Blonay Basket (1LN)Martigny-Rhne Basket (LNB)82-108

---

1/16 final games will be played on October 29th.

Sion Basket (1LN)Rhne Hrens Basket (LNA)

Genve Basket Pquis-Seujet (1LN)Sdent BBC Nyon (LNA)

Etoile Sportive Vernier Meyrin (LNB)Geneva Devils (LNA)

Colas Bernex Basket (LNB)MGS Grand-Saconnex Basket (LNA)

Vevey Riviera Basket (LNB)Lausanne Basket (LNA)

Pages Jaunes Pully Basket (LNB)BBC Monthey (LNA)

BC Epalinges/Palinzard (LR)Martigny-Rhne Basket (LNB)

Bulle Basket (1LN)Benetton Fribourg Olympic (LNA)

Union Neuchtel Basket (LNB)Villars Basket (LNB)

STB Bern Basket (1LN)Starwings Basket Regio Basel (LNA)

BC Arlesheim (LR)BC Boncourt (LNA)

BC Ksnacht-Erlenbach (LR)Phoenix Basket Regensdorf (1LN)

Poly-Rapid Zrich Wildcats (LNB)BC Infina Korac Zrich (LNB)

Star Gordola (1LN)SAM Basket Massagno (LNA)

Luzern Lions (LNB)SAV Vacallo Basket (LNA)

Barbengo Basket (LR)Lugano Tigers (LNA)

Starwings Basket Regio Basel extends Tony McCrory - by Eurobasket NewsStarwings Basket Regio Basel announced signing of one-year contract extension with Canadian/Irish player Tony McCrory (199-G/F-77, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Simon Fraser). Experienced shooting guard/small forward joined Starwings Basket Regio Basel in January this year from German team BV Chemnitz 99. He appeared 11 times in LNA averaging 9.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg and 1.3 apg. He was the leading LNA player in 3-pts percentage, 53.8%. As a member of BC Chemnitz 99, McCorry added 11.4 ppg, 4 rpg and 1.2 apg in five 2.Bundesleague games. He spent two more years in the same league but as a player of TSV Noerdlingen. Experienced Tony McCrory also has experience from Belgium, Austria and Spanish LEB2. In 2005 he was Austrian B Bundesliga champion with Feldkirch. In 2006 got the award 'Eurobasket.com German 2.Bundesliga All-Bosmans Team -06'. Last season with Starwings, McCorrey reached LNA play-off semifinals. At the same time his team was semifinalist of Swiss National Cup and finalist of League Cup. Tony McCrory graduated at Simon Fraser University (NAIA) in 1999.

STATE OF ST. THOMAS BASKETBALL - by David EdoleOrignally published on March 18, 2008

BY Boyd 'Boyzie' TodmanBasketball has progressed for the younger age groups since I have been working with the Zero Tolerance Program. From eight to nineteen there is a lot of talent but negative ideas and or attitudes from the Men's leagues have started to take root. That kind of mentality is not good for the game and leads to a decrease level. Players, some fans and several coaches don't have respect for the game. The only thing on their plate is winning and losing. They abuse officials! The nastiest things that can ever come out a human beings mouth is thrown at officials. When players go after officials some kind of penalty needs to be dished out. And vice versa if an official has a personal vendetta, he or she need to be dealt with. They have been several altercations that come to mind that should have led to lifetime bans. The problem is not only in the men's league but in Interscholastic. Coaches disrespect officials in front of their players and the players follow tow. After a game, I am so frustrated to hear a high school player saying the referee 'cheat or thief'. A grown man would come out of his house to cheat kids. That is the growing belief.The use of curse words so blatantly and in front of children is why the fan participation is down. It is not a family atmosphere. I can't take my family to a game where the conduct is awful. The crowds of the past were way bigger than what we have today. People get tired of nonsense that takes place and just stay home.The young group learns form what they see from the older group. So, at ZERO TOLERANCE we try to instill discipline. The program was started by former Senator Allie Petrus who decided to do something for the kids, 12 years ago. He was the man behind the groups and I was the worker. He installed penalties for kids that think they are bigger than rules. Players are suspended for things on and off the court. By no means we are perfect but the kids know to play in Zero Tolerance the right attitude is needed. The first day of Zero Tolerance begins with a clinic. I ask the kids what are their reasons for being here. I let them know they are not here to play basketball. They are here to learn how to play basketball. They need to treat the program like school.At school a teacher instructs you how to do something. Then the student has to find a way to retain what they just learned. Some coaches don't know how to teach the game, but they are out there saying they won this amount of titles. There are objective to teaching the game before even playing. Coaches just need to get away from 'I'. Don't get me wrong, some do teach but kids pick up the negative ideas quicker than the positive. They learn his or her temperament and can't take a lost. What are they going to do in real life when things don't go their way?

Everything revolves around funding in this world. The private sector needs to get involved. One private firm that has constantly helped us is J. Epstein V.I. Foundation. We have gotten other donors, but Epstein has been there every year for the past seven years since Zero Tolerance has become a non-profit organization. Other businesses that have helped us on and off are Coca Cola, West Indian Coop., Pro Security, First Class security and the Virgin Islands government. Coco Cola and the West Indian Coop. have provided the refreshments and the security firms have provided a safe haven for the players and fans.

We have five events every calendar year. In January, we host a 6-to-9 year olds clinic. Easter weekend, Ball-o-Rama is played and we are in our 7th year. In the summer we host three different age groups from 9-to-18 year olds. Labor Day weekend we host a 19-and under tournament and in November an inter neighborhood league is played. We do all of this to help curb violence that happens on St. Thomas. It is not hard to find programs but it is real hard to find funding.

Zero Tolerances is trying to expand. Last summer, we played in a tournament that featured teams from St. Croix, Tortola and Virgin Gorda. This year we want to play in Puerto Rico. The organization is trying to take two teams (11-12 & 13-14) to play in an AAU tournament.

Another major problem that I have is parents' involvement. For some reason we have to twist their arms to support their children. We have four team tournament for Easter weekend. If they are 12 players per team that means they are 96 parents. At our breakfast we were lucky to get 20. The First Lady Cecile Dejongh who was in attendance security detail gave me a great idea. She told me to send a letter home with the kids and have the parents return it. The numbers got better but I should not have to go to such lengths. We are not a BABY SITTING SERVICE. It is your kid; I should not have interest in seeing your kid be a becoming a better person than a parent.ZERO TOLERANCE's mantra is 'Say no to negative behavior, no to alcohol and no to violence.'We have had some Zero Tolerance players that have gone on to college but in the bigger picture, we should have at least sent one kid into an NCAA division I basketball school every year. We should be judged on how many kids have a basketball scholarship not winning a game on St. Thomas. We can do better.

State Of St. Croix Basketball - by David EdoleOriginally published on March 18, 2008

By Johnny Clenance President of Ronald Charles Biddy League

As many of the basketball leagues on St. Croix enter or complete their playoff competition one thing is very clear fan attendance and enthusiasm is at a very high level. The past months have seen the Country Day tournament, and the Central High tournament. Both of these tournaments were very well attended. The level of competition has remained very intense. Rashawn Williams and Olani Vanterpool have carried the banner for the Central High Caribs as they attempt to capture the St. Croix Division Boys Championship. The Education Complex with Kyle Sylvester leading the way still remains a formidable foe for the Caribs. Country Day school again has proven to be a worthy opponent even in the post Stephen O'Reilly era as they played some very competitive games against the Central High Caribs. Although the competition has remained intense the level of talent is not at the same standard as last year when the likes of Wilson Ferrance Educational Complex, Craig Williams Jr. Central High, and Stephen O'Reilly Country Day, graced the hardwood at the interscholastic level here on St. Croix. In the girls division the Central High Lady Caribs continue to dominate the opposition as they remain undefeated in both league and tournament play for the 2008 season including victories over both C.A.H.S and Antilles from St. Thomas. The Lady Caribs are chuck full of talent with Sherice Joseph and Shawna Moving leading the way as seniors and Lanese Bough, Shamyra Vanterpool and Risheema Burke establishing themselves as more than adequate in continuing the Lady Caribs level of dominance over the St. Croix competition. At the Junior Varsity level recent tournaments held both at the John Woodson School and the Central High School has exhibited good talent at that level. The competition and talent shown at the Junior Varsity level has provided quite a bright outlook for varsity basketball on St. Croix. The fan attendance at these games was also very encouraging. The Ronald Charles league which has been a feeder program for both Junior Varsity and Varsity basketball will conclude play with championship series in all three levels 7-9, 10-12 and 13-15 the weekend of March 15. In existence for the past 25 years the Ronald Charles league has helped to develop such Varsity standouts as Tyrone Allick, Cuthbert Victor, Rashidi Clenance, Leon Lang III, Craig Williams Jr., Rashawn Williams, and Olani Vanterpool just to mention a few. This year the league had 26 teams competing. This has been the largest number of teams ever entered in the Ronald Charles League. It is a true indication that the popularity of basketball continues to grow on the island of St. Croix. From all indications fan attendance seems to be on the upswing and competition is very keen as illustrated by some very exciting recent playoff games. The elementary school league is also kicking into high gear. The Men's summer league conducted by Kevin Sheppard has its faithful following which makes basketball competition at different levels on St. Croix as a spectator sport available to enthusiastic fans nine months each year. With the advent of the UMAY program in Atlanta becoming available to local talent such as Nyanda Sam, a new frontier seems to be opening to the Virgin Islands basketball players. This very well could be the establishing of a very important venue for the development of our athletes both at an athletic and of equal importance also an academic level. The program in question would be very appropriate for those athletes who need a change of environment. There also seems to be the possibility of some of our better prospects being able to compete at an AAU level, both boys and girls, during the summer and return home to attend school during the fall. If this materializes this would prove to be a shot in the arm for increasing the caliber of play on St. Croix. It would also provide those individuals chosen for AAU competition the opportunity to place their skills on display for mainland college coaches. This is very promising for the development of local talent. The Sunstroke All V.I. Hoop Classic continues to be the showcase for all interscholastic talent both St. Thomas and St. Croix and will host their annual event in the month of April. During the past year in sending out DVDs of the Hoop Classic to numerous coaches Sunstroke Promotions has begun the process of introducing our athletes to the mainland colleges. Responses from most coaches relative to our players have been very positive. This process is of paramount importance when taking into account our geographic location and the prohibitive airfare cost for college coaches to attend some of our tournaments. So as March Madness arrives the future of basketball on the island of St. Croix seems to be very encouraging. Whether or not the above mentioned leagues and off island opportunities maximize their potential of landing scholarships for local athletes to attend mainland colleges is left to be seen, however, what is apparent is that basketball is alive and well on St. Croix. See you at the games.

*****************************************************

UBL

UBLWranglers Tryouts Oct. 4th ,11th &12th - by Ozzie DensonThe UBL Wranglers will be having their Tryouts this Oct. 4th,11th &12th at (Selwyn School of Denton ) in Denton, Texas. All players that wish to Tryout please contact Coach Denson at 972-781-8120. or visit our site at www.ublwranglers.com. Last year we had over 150 players at Tryouts. This year we are looking at about 200 players. The UBL Wranglers are the elite team in the United Basketball League. The Wranglers sent 12 players to the NBA-DL this year. The UBL is the League that moves its Players and Coaches to the next . So Come Get Some !!! Go Wranglers.

TIGERS RARING FOR THE TIP OFF - by George ManousidisEverton Tigers are raring to go as their 2008-2009 BBL season gets underway this Friday as the Blues look to get their hands on some silverware.

The Tigers start out their second full season in basketballs top flight with an away trip to league veterans Sheffield Sharks.

Local fans can see their new look squad at this seasons first home tie against London Capital a week later on Friday 10 October.

New head coach Tony Garbelotto has made some key signings over the summer as he plots for basketball success in the BBL.

American trio Josh Gross, Marcus Bailey and Andre Smith will team up with the more well known stalwarts such as Richard Midgley and Chris Haslam for the new campaign.

Tony reckons the Tigers squad will be well prepared for an assault on the top places in the league.

He said: Weve brought in some experience and talent from abroad to complement what we already had at the end of last season.

Were raring to get going and away to Sheffield is no better place to start.

These are the teams we are going to have to get results at if we want to challenge for the top places.

London Capital is our first game at home they havent started that well, with two defeats, so the pressure is going to be on them.

I cant wait for the atmosphere at Greenbank this season, if it is anything like last year then we will be tough to beat at home.

The Tigers season tips off later than the other BBL teams due to Garbelotto having spent time during the summer with the successful GB squad, which produced a historic qualification for eurobasket 2009. Garbelotto is hoping this success will rub off on the Tigers.

GB head coach Chris Finch interview - by Eurobasket NewsGB coach Chris Finch has had a matter of days to digest this summer's heroics. Here he answers a few of Basketball 24/7's key questions ...

Q. Okay, every coach says he does not like to talk about individuals. But which of your guys are you happiest for now we have qualified?

A. I think I'm really most pleased for Andy Betts. He's been a microcosm of what we're all about. The very first summer, when I saw him in Vegas, he came right up to me, was really excited about the programme and we talked about the possibilities at that time.

Unfortunately, his wife gave birth that summer, and he couldn't play but he desperately wanted to and he felt bad that he didn't. I believe he was instrumental in convincing Robert Archibald to play the following year.

There was so much talk about 2012 and qualifying for the A Division last year, but he was always saying his big dream was to play in the European Championships. He had no idea if he would be playing basketball come 2012 - I think he will be, but there are no guarantees.

And then this year he stood up to his club to play for his national team which is a hell of a statement and really meaningful. Unfortunately, he couldn't really contribute in this campaign but he was here all the time, every day that he wasn't back in Leicester getting treatment or seeing a doctor, he was getting treatment.

You saw Andy Betts in Pardubice, he looked like an 18-year-old kid, the way he was supporting everybody. And the other thing is he has always answered the call for England, always. Back when they were flying them through god knows where, he was with them. I'm really, really happy for him and still has a contribution to make.

He'll be a huge addition for us. Don't forget, people talk about Ben Gordon, Robert Archibald and all the other guys we might add next year but Andy didn't play for us this year.

Q. You mention Gordon and Archibald and 2009 camp is a long way off but what are your first thoughts about it?

A. Everyone has got to earn their place on our team. I think we will have a smaller number of people at camp next year. We will be watching closely everybody's performance this year. It's going to be really important players are in top shape in the middle of summer, weeks out before we start. We're going to have a method for checking that and if you're not in shape you won't be invited.

The guys here now are in pole position. Their circumstances may change, of course, but they are in pole position.

Q. 60,000 a win for Luol Deng ... money well spent?

A. Absolutely. With great admiration, you look at those countries - Spain, Lithuania - and what they do a great job of is ensuring their best players are able to play. That's what British Basketball did. They made a huge statement, a huge commitment, UK Sport committed to making our best players available. I've been in British sport now for a while, GB had a great Olympics. Why? Because they were so embarrassed by previous efforts they actually got serious about it.

It's amazing now what is happening in British sport because people are getting serious about it. It's moving from amateur to professional and that means you've got to pave the way for your best athletes to be able to perform. If that's providing resources to train or insurance premiums, so be it.

Q. Was it disappointing for you to end on a loss in Bosnia?

A. The frustrating thing all campaign was every time we played well, we would lose concentration. In Bosnia, we were up nine, came out of a time out and didn't execute a play. Then they got back-to-back threes. We couldn't finish lay-ups and got soft.

Q. Were there any positives from that game?

A. The positives are that, as we did in Turkey, we showed that without Luol Deng we still have the ability to be ultra-competitive. But we don't have the luxury of making mistakes. Lu gives us a margin for error. We need Pops to play a better game on the road. He's been in foul trouble on the road all the time and he has to do a better job of keeping out of early foul trouble because the game changes when he comes out for us.

Our bench guys were okay in Bosnia, we just didn't have enough good performances from enough people. And you can't let teams come out and execute their stuff against us. They are just too damned good.

Q. Enough dwelling on the negatives! This has been an unbelievably successful campaign.

A. Yes, it has been successful. It's just a case of creating the standards we want to meet every game. That's why Bosnia was disappointing because it would have been good to end on a high and make a statement.

Q. Did you expect to win the group coming in?

A. I don't expect to win groups or leagues, I expect to win games. So yes, I thought we had a very real chance of qualifying. That's what we preached to our guys from day one. We had to go out to play to win ALL the time, regardless of who we're playing, where we're playing, how we're playing!

Q. And now we have to wait a year to do it all again!

A. That's the sad part of the GB experience. It's been great for three summers in a row but it's an incredibly intense experience. Now, for us, we have a lot of work to do in the next ten months, looking forward to 2009. We have a lot of research to do, a lot of thinking, a lot of planning.

Q. How do you analyse Poland this far out?

A. It's going to be a moonwalk for us and we've got to make sure we're prepared for our landing! We've got to make sure we properly prepare which is why I say we have a lot of research, planning to do.

That's the one message I want the players to understand. British basketball for us, as management, is a 365-day a year thought process. We all have other things, the day jobs, that occupy our time but we want people to think British basketball year-round so that it becomes that much more meaningful, all that much more of a priority.

Now we have tangible goals of where we want to be, we can get excited about that. I feel like putting a big clock on the office wall and watching it count down to Poland 2009!

Two clubs with new coaches meet at the EIS in Sheffield on Friday evening as the home-town Sharks take on Everton Tigers in both teams opening BBL Championship fixture of the season.

Sharks Atiba Lyons (198-F-82, college: Pace) has stepped up to player coach over the summer, and he is excited about the challenge ahead: I said goodbye to free time in July that was the first adjustment. I also said goodbye to stress free and care free days off. But seriously I am always watching tape and analyzing our team to see where we can improve and making us better. Trying to do that and keep my aggressiveness as a player and stop myself from watching plays develop and get into the action.

Lyons is pleased with how his side have looked during the pre-season period: It was a good pre-season. It took a little longer to get all our guys in together but we got a lot of work done once they were in. It is looking good and a lot of positives to build from. The guys have come together well on and off the court. I have been lucky in that respect. Our ambitions are to finish in the top four and secure a trophy.

The Sharks coach is expecting a tough test against Tigers: I have heard they have a very talented and deep team. I know they have some good veterans combined with some good young players. I think if we can follow our game plan and play solid defence for four quarters it will be a highly competitive game.

For Tigers coach Tony Garbelotto its been a long summer as hes helped Great Britain qualify for Eurobasket 2009, but he is happy with how his brief pre-season with Everton has gone: Weve just come back from a week in Belgium, which has been really beneficial for the team. We played Mons on Thursday, a Dutch team on Saturday and Antwerp on Sunday. We lost the games against the Belgian sides and beat the Dutch by nine, but I was pleased with how we played in all of the games. We made Antwerp keep their starters on the floor in the fourth period, and I was pretty content with our performance.

We really learned a lot about each other, and what we have to do to get better. Weve got all of our players in, but well definitely be looking to make some additions, and were looking at different ways to improve the squad.

Garbelotto knows it will be a difficult opening game for his new team: My assistant watched their pre-season game against Cheshire, and we have some tape from that game. They look like they are a deep team, and although we didnt see the kid from Syracuse, it seems theyve upgraded in athleticism and ability. Theyve got a pretty good nucleus of a team, and playing against some top Spanish teams pre-season will have helped them.

Sharks have the better of the three meetings between the teams last season, taking the series 2-1. Evertons only win in three games when the teams met in the steel city in mid-December as they ran out narrow 81-77 winners. Sharks gained revenge with a 93-87 victory on Merseyside in January before recording a resounding 104-81 victory in March.

Saturday 4 October 2008

CH 7:00pm Guildford Heat v Milton Keynes Lions

One of the developing rivalries in British basketball continues on Saturday as Guildford Heat host Marshall MK Lions. The teams have already met twice this season in the BBL Cup Winners Cup, with Heat winning their home leg 91-89 before retaining the trophy with a 68-60 victory at Blecthley a fortnight ago.

Saturdays game is a repeat of the Championship final, which saw Heat become the first team to score 100 in the final as they ran out 100-88 victors. Danny Gilbert led the Heat scoring with 27, and captain Mike Martin added 25, while Lions skipper Dru Spinks led by example with 22 points.

That victory was revenge for the BBL Cup semi-final which saw 26 Yorick Williams points help Lions to a 91-80 victory. Tony Dorsey finished with 20 for the Heat, but they were unable to prevent the Lions moving towards the first piece of silverware in franchise history. Two of the three BBL Championship meetings between the sides were at Milton Keynes, but that didnt prevent the Heat recording a sweep against Vince Macauleys team.

Heat coach Paul James knows what to expect when his side face the Lions: I expect a very physical and tough game against the lions. They have good players in every area who can be game winners. Yorick [Williams] , Terrell [Brown] and [Tommie] Eddie have all started the season well so we will need to control their input as much as possible.

The Lions play-caller is expecting a tough game when his team make their second trip of the season to the Spectrum: It will be a tough game at the Heat, there are a lot of proud people in that organisation and they do things the way they should be one. Mike Martin is always the key for the Heat and we expect that by now the new Import players would have caught up to speed with the game over here and look to make strong contributions.

Although Lions lost the championship game against Heat last season, Macauley doesnt consider Saturdays match-up to be a revenge mission: Last year has nothing to do with this year so we are not exacting revenge for anything that might have happened then. The Cup Winners Cup was a pre-season tournament that really is designed to get teams ready for the season. As far as I'm concerned this is the first meaningful game between us, it will be a tough encounter and I expect the Heat to be there or thereabouts.

CH 7:30pm Leicester Riders v Cheshire Jets

New Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders coach Rob Paternostro is expecting a tough test when his side host BiG Storage Cheshire Jets at the John Sandford Sports Centre on Saturday evening.

Paternostro watched the Jets demolish Worcester 135-103 on Sunday, and was impressed with what he saw: The Jets are a deep team and I thought that their guards played really well against Wolves. I thought Alto Virgil did a nice job of pushing the basketball, and Chez Marks scored in many different ways. When you add Shawn Myers, James Hamilton and Calvin Davis, you have three guys who know how to get it done in this league.

We are really looking forward to the game, we had a good crowd last week and the fans were great. We are hoping that there is a nice buzz in there on Saturday night.

Riders opened their BBL Championship campaign with a 73-56 victory against PAWS London Capital on Saturday, and Paternostro had mixed feelings about the game:

I thought we had a great first quarter against the Capitals and put the game out of reach early at 30-8. But I thought that we struggled offensively after that. After the firs tquarter It was an ugly game and i was hoping it would have been more free flowing, but a win is a win and we will take it.

Youre not going to play well offensively all the time, so we need to make sure our defensive intensity is consistent and I thought we played pretty well at the defensive end. We had a couple guys step up on the boards. Phil Missere was hustling all over the court, he had 15 rebounds and Lataryl Williams played good defence and had 11 rebounds.

All the BBL Championship games between the teams resulted in away wins last season. The first meeting came in mid-November when Jets returned from the John Sandford Sports Centre with a 93-86 victory, but Riders leveled the series in December with a 93-80 victory before sealing things 104-97 overtime win in April. The teams also met twice in the BBL Trophy, and it was Cheshire who won both games to progress to the semi-finals 96-91 on Riders court and 86-71 at home.

Jets coach Paul Smith knows his side will have to play well to repeat those wins in the midlands: Leicester will be a very tough game particularly on their court. They are a quick athletic team with some good BBL vets combined with some exciting new talent. I was particularly impressed with Swanson in their game against London but they have lots of threats.

CH 7:30pm London Capitals v Plymouth Raiders

PAWS London Capital will be looking for their first BBL Championship victory against Airwave Plymouth Raiders when the pair meet on Saturday evening.

Raiders recorded a clean sweep of BBL Championship victories against Capital last season, winning 79-62 at Capital City Academy in October before recording a narrow 73-71 away victory the following month. The sweep was wrapped up with an 83-60 victory in the West Country in December, but Capital gained revenge in early November with a shock 83-74 victory in Plymouth as they knocked the Raiders out of the BBL Cup at the first hurdle.

Plymouth coach Gary Stronach admits that he is unsure of what his side will face when they travel to the capital on Saturday: I really don't know too much about Capital at the moment, but hopefully I will be able to find out more as the week progresses. I know its a tough place to play and in people like Marcus Knight, Ibrahim Gariba et al they have established BBL players.

The new-look Capital side opened their season with a pair of defeats against Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders and Marshall MK Lions last week, leaving rookie coach Milek Jivens with mixed emotions:

I was happy to get my first game out of the way. The team were a bit nervous and we didnt execute as well as Id hoped. We needed to play a bit harder and a bit smarter.

Its a different team from last year. I was around the team behind the scenes last season, but weve come together late this year after Steve [Bucknall] decided to leave. Ive had to step up, but I knew some of the players, and Im looking forward to the challenge. Theres going to be stress, and hopefully theres going to be some happiness. But its not how we start, its how we finish.

We played a lot better against Milton Keynes. We had a lapse in the second period, but we picked it up before we lost focus in the third period and let them take the game away from us.

Jivens is hoping to get some information about Raiders during the week: I didnt have the chance to see them at Worthing as we were playing, but Im hoping to get some scouting reports this week and see how they played against Thunder.

CH 7:00pm Worcester Wolves v Scottish Rocks

Worcester Wolves coach Skouson Harker is hoping that he will have a full squad to choose from them his side play their first home game of the season on Saturday evening.

Wolves went down 135-103 at BiG Storage Cheshire Jets on Sunday, but Harker expects a better display on Saturday evening: It was a great experience for us in Chester. We were two possible starters short, and any team in the BBL without a starting point guard would struggle against Chesters speed. They are a new side, but I will say it will be very different next time we meet. They had no answer for Justin [Brown] and with Will [Funn] in the line-up he will be even more dominant. We are a very good team, and we can learn from our first game.

We started a young kid with no BBL experience and played an 18 year old kid for 30 plus minutes, he did a very good job in his first BBL game. Chester was red hot, and being worn thin, any team in the BBL struggles when key guys have to log 38 plus minutes.

Harker is expecting a tough game against the Rocks: They have good overall size and Rob Yanders will lead from the point as always. We expect a very competitive encounter.

The Glasgow club won two of the three games between the teams last season, starting with a 112-71 victory in October. Rocks sealed the series with a 98-82 win the following month, but Wolves gained some measure of revenge in March with a 108-92 success.

Rocks player-coach Sterling Davis is looking forward to his sides opening BBL Championship game of the season: Right now what I know about the Wolves is that they will be a fast paced team with a good inside presence. We have to make sure and slow them down as much as possible and its also key to keep them off the boards.

CH 7:00pm Worthing Thunder v Newcastle Eagles

BBL newboys Worthing Thunder will be looking for their first victory in the competition on Saturday when they host reigning league champions Newcastle Eagles.

The teams had contrasting results last weekend, with Thunders BBL debut against Airwaves Plymouth Raiders ending in defeat, while Eagles won the battle of last seasons top two by beating Guildford Heat.

Thunder coach Gary Smith admitted it had been a difficult opening game for his team: Saturday was a tough baptism against Plymouth, they've been together a lot longer than we have, and already managed to have 30 training sessions together before the season started. We haven't even had one with a full squad yet! I thought our guys gave as good as they got for large periods on Saturday and the commitment shown was fantastic, players diving around everywhere, scrapping for every ball.

Colby Bargeman has flown in this week so the squad is complete, except perhaps for another big man to help out Lijah [Perkins] and Janis (Ivanovskis) under the boards, but we'll see if we need him after Lijah gave me 12 points and 12 boarda on Saturday.

Smith is aware that his side will face another difficult evening when they host the Eagles: Newcastle will be difficult to break down, they can almost put two fives on the floor that would be competitive in this league. The likes of Fab Flournoy, Trey Moore, Lynard Stewart and Charles Smith have been stars in this league for some time, and then they just add Dru Sullivan on the eve of the season. He is a great pickup and it is great for British basketball that he is back in the BBL, I just wish he wasn't playing against us!

We will not be overawed though, we have a lot of talent in our team, so we have nothing to fear stepping on that court, particularly at home. As long as we go out and play with intensity for 40 minutes then that is all I can ask, nd let's see what happens.

Eagles coach Fab Flournoy is taking nothing for granted despite the fact that his team travel to the south coast as clear favourites: Every time we match up with a new team is a worry for me. I think our record will show from previous seasons that we have lost games at times where we have been working teams out. No game is a 'gimme' in this league and this one won't be any differentThe Newcastle player-coach has some idea of what his side will face on Saturday: They are clearly a new group coming together, but we are aware of a number of the players from their past in the BBL and in touring teams, we have played against like Ryan Patton, Dan Midgeley, Lijah Perkins and Pat Bates before.

Flournoys team made a successful start to their defence of the league championship with a win against Guildford Heat last week, leaving the Eagles coach moderately satisfied: We had a great start and lost our way a little bit in phases, which we tend to expect in our first games. I wasn't disappointed overall and I am happy with everyone's contribution and positive mentality right now. Both teams got solid contributions from their British contingent and for us it was great to see a very solid performance from Andrew Bridge. He had a bad end to last season and I'm sure that this game would have helped him get back on track, especially after coming back from a big operation this summer.

The signing of Andrew Sullivan in build up to the game provided a big boost for the Eagles: This team is in the early stages of gelling and I have to treat players on a level footing. Everyone knows that game time comes from what happens in training in the week. It was the same seven years ago when I started out and its still the same today. We all know Andrew is a special talent and he knows himself that everyone will get game time on their own merits. We are deeper than we have ever been since I started here so that does an another dimension for me to deal with but I'm ready for that.

Sunday 5 October 2008

CH 5:30pm Cheshire Jets v Guildford Heat

BiG Storage Cheshire Jets will be looking to carry their form from their last home game into Sundays BBL Championship game against Guildford Heat. Jets bounced back from an opening night loss at Marshall MK Lions to hammer a short-handed Worcester Wolves team 135-103 at Northgate Arena.

We were very inconsistent against Lions said coach Paul Smith. We started well at both ends of the floor, had a terrible second quarter, came back in the third and lost defensive focus in the fourth. It was very disappointing but has helped focus our minds on what we need to work on.

Offensively we had a very good night against Wolves but defensively we were far too inconsistent again. Wolves were a little short handed and they will be a different proposition when we meet again. We had our running game working a lot better in the second game, but defensively we have identified lots we need to work on in both games.

Smith expects Heat to provide a stern test for his team: Heat to be very well drilled and coached at both ends of the floor. They have lots of new players but I saw them play well against Lions and they pushed a very talented Eagles team all the way on their home court. I'm a big fan of Mike Martins game, he leads by example, and I'm sure he has been crucial in helping the new guys settle in.

Heat coach Paul James isnt expecting things to be easy when his side travel to the north west: I have not seen the Jets play this season but I know that any team with calibre players like Shawn Myers, Chez Marks and Calvin Davis in their line-up, will cause you a lot of problems.

Guildford lost their opening fixture of the season at Newcastle last week, and James was a disappointed man: Im not overly unhappy with the lose as this was always going to be a very difficult game first time up with this new group of players. Hopefully now they realise that we can compete with the best in the league. The disappointing thing was that even though we only lost by five it could have been so different had we not turned the ball over 27 times and missed ten foul shots, but we can only get better from here on in!

Heats scoring was led by James three new signings, and he was pleased with that fact: I am very pleased with the way the new players performed and once Mike [Martin] is fully over his illness back to full strength and Chad [McKnight] starts to deliver what I expect from him, we will be a very competitive team.

CH 4:00pm Plymouth Raiders v Scottish Rocks

Raiders coach Gary Stronach is expecting a tough test when the sides furthest apart in the BBL make their trip to Plymouth Pavilions: Rocks are well drilled and coached with a number of outstanding players in Davis, Yanders and Shelton they move the ball really well at the offensive end and we will certainly need to step up our defensive intensity from last week.

Stronach was pleased with his sides 104-80 victory against Worthing Thunder on Saturday: I felt we played well in patches. Defensively we had a good second and third quarter. Its always good to start off your campaign with a win.

It was good to see seven players in double figures we had great intensity off the bench. It was a team victory, I was particularly pleased with Gall, Love and Beckles contributions.

Rocks player-coach Sterling Davis is pleased with how their pre-season has panned out, and is raring to go as they open their season this weekend: The pre-season has gone pretty good so far with us. We have quite a few new faces so it has taken a little longer this time around to get everyone on the same page but its coming along ok.

Everyone is fitting in just fine. We are just learning about each others likes and dislikes are on the floor which is necessary for any team to figure out when youre all new.

As far as the Raiders, they have the same nucleus as last year which is great for them. Gary has done a great job of keeping his core there and its definitely paid off for them over the years. They will be another strong team in the paint so we will definitely have to be ready to defend the block.

Raiders recorded a clean sweep of victories in the three BBL Championship games between the two sides last season but all of the match-ups proved to be tight affairs with the biggest margin being five points. The opening meeting in the West Country saw Plymouth win 74-69 in October, and they repeated the victory with an 83-79 home success in February. The series sweep was completed in April when a 26-11 final stanza saw Raiders win 76-71 in Glasgow.

Kristi Harrower set for Australian league return - by Eurobasket NewsThe ADF Women's National Basketball League has received a lift on the day of the 2008/09 season launch with news that Kristi Harrower (166-G-75) is likely to return to the Australian league.

Harrower, a three-time Olympian point guard that guided the Opals to a Gold Medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, was cut by her Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg with one year remaining on her contract.

If negotiations can be resolved swiftly, which is no certainty when dealing with the Russian league, Harrower may even be eligible to suit up for her beloved Bendigo Spirit team this Saturday.

'I have every intention of playing for Bendigo,' Harrower said.

'As long as Ekaterinburg release me and I get my money, it should all be okay.'

'I'm not 100 per cent sure what the terms of the release will be so I'm just waiting to hear what my agent has to say.'

Basketball Australia has received an application letter for Harrower's international player transfer which would see her spend her first summer in Australia in eight years.

'Europe has been my life for the last eight years and I'll be disappointed not to play there again this season.

'Ekaterinburg is a great club and I'll miss the private planes and the great apartment and playing alongside Penny Taylor but I won't miss the long Russian winter and the loneliness.

'Plus, I'm excited to play for Bendigo.'

The ADF WNBL season will be launched at 12 noon today at Northern Suburbs Basketball Association with representatives from all ten teams attending.

Bendigo plays its first match of the 2008/09 season at home against Canberra on Saturday night.

By Bill Baxter for WNBL Media Courtesy of www.wnbl.com.au

Michaela Dalgleish to miss beginning of the season - by Eurobasket NewsGuard Michaela Dalgleish will miss the Canberra Capitals' opening two matches of the WNBL season as she fights to overcome a back injury before the first home match on October 10.

The Capitals start their 2008-09 season with a Victorian double-header against Bendigo on Saturday night and Bulleen on Sunday.

But Dalgleish will not make the flight south with the rest of the squad, allowing Hannah Bowley to make her Capitals debut from the bench a week earlier than expected. ''I did some shooting at training on Saturday but I was pretty taped up and I'm allowed to start doing a little more each session now,'' Dalgleishe said.

''I'm deflated missing the start of the season but I have to look at the bigger picture and it's better to rehabilitate now than have to miss grand final week.

''I know I'm not ready and I'd be silly to push it. I'm just looking long term. I've never done a back before so it's hard to monitor because you don't know what is normal.''

Dalgleish is the only injury concern for the Capitals as they prepare to aim for the championship for the sixth time.

Captain Kellie Abrams (flu) and Peta Sinclair (knee) returned to full training last Saturday and coach Carrie Graf said both would play in the season-opener.

''[Saturday's training] was probably one of the best we've had so far this pre-season,'' Graf said.

''We had Peta back in and Abs [Abrams] is now rid of the flu and back in the mix which is great.''

Sinclair said her patella tendonitis was something she would need to manage throughout the season but it wouldn't stop her from playing.

The coach said Bowley was the likely replacement for Dalgleish with 15-year-old Lauren Jansen set to make her debut at the first home game against Sydney Uni.

Bowley fell into the Capitals' lap at the start of pre-season after moving to Canberra from Adelaide.

She played 11 games for Perth in the 2005-06 season.

''Macca [Dalgleish] is a vital piece of our team because of the depth she adds,'' Graf said. ''She knows the system, she knows her role and it is disappointing for her.''

Four players Chantella Perera, Michelle Musselwhite and Marianna Tolo and Bowley will debut for the Capitals in the opening round.

Perera joins the team after playing last season with Dandenong, Musselwhite arrives from Sydney Uni and Tolo made the move across town after completing her scholarship at the AIS.

By Chris Dutton for The Canberra TimesCourtesy of The Canberra Times

*****************************************************

BULGARIA - Women

Tournament 'Ruscuk', no surprises in day 2 - by Eurobasket NewsIn the second day of 'Ruscuk' tournament, reining Bulgarian champion Dunav Ekont outplayed Beroe 71-54. As a reminder, Beore 07 in the first game was better than Slavia 90-80.The hosts of this tournament, Dunav Ekont, opened the game strongly earning 21-14 after first ten minutes. Second quarter was a low-scoring one. Players of head coach Stefan Stefanov intensified defense stopping Beroe 07 on just 9 points. On the other side the hosts also didn't shine at the offensive end but their performance was quite enough for 9-2 run and plus 11 at the half time, 34-23. It was basket after basket game in third frame. Each team netted 16 points, which of course was not the plan of Beroe's players. Question about the winner is definitely resolved in the last stanza, which Dunav Ekont ended 21-15.Hristina Minkova (184-C/F-72) was the top scorer in Dunav Ekont with 14 points. At the same time she grabbed 14 more rebounds. Petja Djambazka (178-F-77) and American Janie Mitchell (183-F-86) helped his team netting 12 points apiece. The leading scorer in Beroe 07 was Ralitsa Naneva (178-F-86), who added 12 points. Galina Stancheva (170-G-85) and Maria Zhelyazkova (181-F-86) had 11 points each.

Toady, Dunav Ekont will meet Slavia.

Fenerbahce hosts an International Tournament - by Eurobasket NewsFenerbahce-Lukoil 88:64

Turkey hosts an International Tournament with four teams participating. The hosts Fenerbahce welcomes Russian Spartak, Bulgarian Lukoil and USK Praha from Czech Republic. Fenerbahce opened the home tournament with a win over Lukoil from Bulgaria 88:64. The home side opened the game with 21:18 and took control of the game. They pushed the tempo in the second period and increased the lead after 28:16 in the quarter. Both teams left the court for 49:34 for the hosts. In the third period Lukoil bounced back and remained alive entering the last frame. The guests produced 20:19 in the third and reduced to 14 points after thirty minutes of the game. The last quarter however belonged to the home team that rushed to 20-10 margin. Fenerbahce opened the home tournament with a win and gets ready for the second game. Newlin top-scored for the winners with 17 points. Nalan netted 14 and Albena Branzova (192-F/C-71), Esmeral and Begum scored 10 each. Dionne Brown (188-F/C-82, college: Baylor) nailed 19 in defeat, while Olena Samburska (172-G-89, agency: LBM Management) posted 15. In another game of the tournament Spartak overcame Praha 91:77.

Gambrinus SikaBrno opened the season 2008/2009 with a massive win. It was the only game in the first round and belonged to the defending champions of the previous years. The rest of the games will be played tonight, while the game between ZVVZ USK Praha and Basket Slovanka is planned for October 3rd. Gambrinus SikaBrno had a road win over BK Strakonice 41:86. The start of the game did not depict the whole picture of the game. The hosts stayed alive and trailed only 16:22 after the first ten minutes. The defending champions pushed the tempo in the second stanza when they outscored BK Strakonice 23-7. As a result the both squads went to the lockers with 45:23 for Gambrinus SikaBrno. The guests continued to dominate the court and were too strong in the second half. With 21:12 and 20:6 they finished the third and the last quarters respectively and won the opener of the League. Romana Hejdova (183-F-88) top-scored for the winners with 19 points. Horakova nailed 16, while Liene Jansone (192-F/C-81, college: Siena) posted 13. Alena Podskalska (181-F-86) ended up with 9 points in defeat, while Jana Stejskalova (178-F-75) added 8. Gambrinus SikaBrno opened the season 2008/2009 with a massive win and looks forward for anothre victim.

Spartak beat USK Praha in the opener of friendly tournament - by Eurobasket NewsTurkey hosts an International Tournament with four teams participating. The hosts Fenerbahce welcomes Russian Spartak, Bulgarian Lukoil and USK Praha from Czech Republic. The defending champions of Euroleague Spartak won over USK Praha in the opener of the tournament. The Russian team opened the game with 27:20 and proved that the team starts new season with the same ambitions. With lots of changes in the roster Spartak will need some time to be team number one again. Praha won the second period by one point and reduced the gap at 40:46 at the halftime. In the third period the court belonged to the Russian team. Spartak dominated the court and increased the lead to 76:51. In the last quarter the teams were mostly killing time as the result of the game was done before. In another game of the opener Fenerbahce opened the home tournament with a win over Lukoil from Bulgaria 88:64. The home side opened the game with 21:18 and took control of the game. Newlin top-scored for the winners with 17 points. Nalan netted 14 and Branzova, Esmeral and Begum scored 10 each. Dionne Brown (188-F/C-82, college: Baylor) nailed 19 in defeat, while Olena Samburska (172-G-89, agency: LBM Management) posted 15.

*****************************************************

HOLLAND - Women

Welcome to 2008/2009 season! - by Eurobasket NewsThe new season has been open already! The teams played their first games and Eurobasket is ready to present the first piece of news about the first round.ProBuild opened the season with 80:62 over Celeritas Donar. The third team of the previous season played abroad and started with 21-15 in the opening quarter. The guests controlled the whole game and increased to 44:25 at the halftime. In the second half the Lions seemed to be a little less concentrated, allowing a number of easy baskets and committing a little too many turnovers, but Molly McDowell (178-G-81, college: S.Illinois), Chanel Roos and Anouk Biesters (182-G/F-86) took care of the offense, keeping the margin more or less in tact. Chanel Ross (168-G-83, college: Harris-Stowe St.) top-scored with 22 points and Molly McDowell added 17.

AutoCAD Amazone beat Wereldtickets.nl/Leiderdorp 81:53 at home. The hosts grabbed the lead from the very beginning and had 33:23 entering the second half. The score was 53:36 at the end of the third quarter and then the hosts led the game to the first win. Sharon Bos (181-F-79) paced the winners with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Marloes Renskers (170-G-81, college: Armstr.Atlantic) collected 16 points, 7 steals and 5 assists. Maaike van de Bovenkamp ended up with 12 and Petra Rutgers (178-G/F-81) scored 11 points, made 8 rebounds and 7 steals.

In another games STOL Grasshoppers lost at home to BV Lely 66:83. Perik Jumpers overcame Renes Binnenland 69:59, while the defending champions Yellow Bike that are now have the name HLB Accountants beat Woonbron Das 89:74.

The LSBL defending champions TTT Riga opened the new season with a comfortable victory over Liepaja. TTT Riga thumped their opponents in the only scheduled game of the day today. Liepaja had little chances of putting up a decent fight in this one as TTT Riga got to a storming start. They outgunned their opponents 29:7 in the first quarter and looked too good for any doubts at the moment. TTT Riga slowed down a bit in the second period. Liepaja managed to cut the distance to 18 points at halftime. However the Latvian favorites quickly restored a safe distance and rolled confidently in the third term. They enjoyed a 31-point cushion before the fourth stanza. Liepaja never endangered TTT Rigas lead at the dying stages as the visitors registered the initial win of the season. Tatyana Troina (188-C-81, college: S.Carolina) provided 24 points for TTT Riga. Ieva Kublina (193-C-82, college: Virginia Tech) added 16 points and 12 boards, while Dita Krumberga (183-G/F-84, college: Mt.St.Marys) netted 14 points for the winners. Sabine Niedola (182-F-91) answered with 19 points and 11 boards for Liepaja. Liga Alilujeva (182-C-86) chipped in 8 points in the loss. TTT Riga outrebounded the hosts 47:30 and forced those 23 turnovers. They also shot solid 54% from the field. The first round action will be resumed tomorrow when TTT Riga-Juniors will host RTU-Merka.

Former Lady Lion Darling & Silver Stars Advance to WNBA Finals - by Eurobasket NewsFormer Lady Lion standout Helen Darling (5'6''-G-78, college: Penn St.) and the San Antonio Silver Stars advanced to their first-ever WNBA Finals with a 2-1 series win over the Los Angeles Sparks in the Western Conference Final. The Silver Stars will take on the Detroit Shock in the best-of-five championship series, beginning in the San Antonio on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:30 p.m., on ESPN2.

The Silver Stars, who owned the best record in the WNBA during the regular-season (24-10), are making their first appearance in the WNBA Finals, while Detroit (22-12) is in the WNBA Finals for the third consecutive season. The Silver Stars won both regular-season meetings against the Shock.

Darling, who is making her first career WNBA Finals appearance, is in her second season as a member of the Silver Stars and her seventh season in the WNBA overall. She averaged 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Darling ranked 19th in the WNBA in steals per turnover (0.73) and 17th in the league in steals per 40 minutes (2.28).

The Lady Lions being the 2008-09 campaign with an exhibition game against California (Pa.) on Sun., Nov. 9, before opening the 2008-09 regular-season campaign with a three-game homestand against South Carolina (Sun., Nov. 16), Stony Brook (Wed., Nov. 19) and Prairie View A&M (Fri., Nov. 21). For information on Lady Lion Basketball tickets, call the Penn State ticket office at 814-865-5555 .

Penn State will also participate in the Third Annual Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden on Sun., Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. where it will face perennial national contender Connecticut, a game that will be televised on ESPNU. A Penn State block of tickets for the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden, starting at $15.00, are available; please call 1-800-NITTANY to purchase tickets in the block or for more information. The Lady Lion Cager Club is planning a bus trip for the Maggie Dixon Classic, for more information visit www.LadyLionCagerClub.com.

Utah alum Mitchell recognized at Hall of Fame - by Eurobasket NewsFormer Utah All-American Leilani Mitchell (5'5''-G-85, agency: LBM Management, college: Utah) has been recognized on the Ring of Honor display at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. The Ring of Honor consists of over 100 jerseys of the top high school, college and WNBA players from the past season.

The Kennewick, Wash., native asserted herself as one of the top collegiate point guards in the country last season. She was one of three finalists for the Lieberman Award, given to the top Division I point guard, and was named a third-team All-American by both the Associated Press and CBSsports.com. She also earned honorable mention All-America accolades from the WBCA. In addition, Mitchell won the Mountain West Conference Player and Newcomer of the Year awards and was a first-team all-conference pick.

Mitchell was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in the second round of the WNBA draft and was traded to the New York Liberty. She is currently in the playoffs with the Liberty.

Courtesy of www.utahutes.com

*****************************************************

POLAND - Women

PLKK Round: 4 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket NewsWisla Can-Pak - MUKS Pozn. 80-54Wisla improved to 3-1 record after the home win over MUKS 80:54. Kobryn led the winners with 15 points, while Holdsclaw netted 14. Canty posted 13 and Rushing ended up with 21 points in the losing effort.

AZS Gorzow - Energa Torun 80-69AZS Gorzow became the only undefeated team in the League after 80:69 over Energa Torun. Richards led the winners with 22 points to 4-0 record. , Zurowska posted 17 and Kaczmarczyk had 10. Krawiec top-scored in the losing effort with 20 points.

CCC - Utex Row 64-51CCC Polkowice celebrated the first win in the League after a home win over Utex Row Rybnik 64:51. Jeziorna led the way with 17 points for the winners. Robbins netted 16 and Carter notched 13. Chomac ended up with 15 points for Utex Row Rybnik.

*****************************************************

RUSSIA - Women

Kristi Harrower set for Australian league return - by Eurobasket NewsThe ADF Women's National Basketball League has received a lift on the day of the 2008/09 season launch with news that Kristi Harrower (166-G-75) is likely to return to the Australian league.

Harrower, a three-time Olympian point guard that guided the Opals to a Gold Medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, was cut by her Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg with one year remaining on her contract.

If negotiations can be resolved swiftly, which is no certainty when dealing with the Russian league, Harrower may even be eligible to suit up for her beloved Bendigo Spirit team this Saturday.

'I have every intention of playing for Bendigo,' Harrower said.

'As long as Ekaterinburg release me and I get my money, it should all be okay.'

'I'm not 100 per cent sure what the terms of the release will be so I'm just waiting to hear what my agent has to say.'

Basketball Australia has received an application letter for Harrower's international player transfer which would see her spend her first summer in Australia in eight years.

'Europe has been my life for the last eight years and I'll be disappointed not to play there again this season.

'Ekaterinburg is a great club and I'll miss the private planes and the great apartment and playing alongside Penny Taylor but I won't miss the long Russian winter and the loneliness.

'Plus, I'm excited to play for Bendigo.'

The ADF WNBL season will be launched at 12 noon today at Northern Suburbs Basketball Association with representatives from all ten teams attending.

Bendigo plays its first match of the 2008/09 season at home against Canberra on Saturday night.

By Bill Baxter for WNBL Media Courtesy of www.wnbl.com.au

Spartak beat USK Praha in the opener of friendly tournament - by Eurobasket NewsTurkey hosts an International Tournament with four teams participating. The hosts Fenerbahce welcomes Russian Spartak, Bulgarian Lukoil and USK Praha from Czech Republic. The defending champions of Euroleague Spartak won over USK Praha in the opener of the tournament. The Russian team opened the game with 27:20 and proved that the team starts new season with the same ambitions. With lots of changes in the roster Spartak will need some time to be team number one again. Praha won the second period by one point and reduced the gap at 40:46 at the halftime. In the third period the court belonged to the Russian team. Spartak dominated the court and increased the lead to 76:51. In the last quarter the teams were mostly killing time as the result of the game was done before. In another game of the opener Fenerbahce opened the home tournament with a win over Lukoil from Bulgaria 88:64. The home side opened the game with 21:18 and took control of the game. Newlin top-scored for the winners with 17 points. Nalan netted 14 and Branzova, Esmeral and Begum scored 10 each. Dionne Brown (188-F/C-82, college: Baylor) nailed 19 in defeat, while Olena Samburska (172-G-89, agency: LBM Management) posted 15.

*****************************************************

TURKEY - Women

Fenerbahce hosts an International Tournament - by Eurobasket NewsFenerbahce-Lukoil 88:64

Turkey hosts an International Tournament with four teams participating. The hosts Fenerbahce welcomes Russian Spartak, Bulgarian Lukoil and USK Praha from Czech Republic. Fenerbahce opened the home tournament with a win over Lukoil from Bulgaria 88:64. The home side opened the game with 21:18 and took control of the game. They pushed the tempo in the second period and increased the lead after 28:16 in the quarter. Both teams left the court for 49:34 for the hosts. In the third period Lukoil bounced back and remained alive entering the last frame. The guests produced 20:19 in the third and reduced to 14 points after thirty minutes of the game. The last quarter however belonged to the home team that rushed to 20-10 margin. Fenerbahce opened the home tournament with a win and gets ready for the second game. Newlin top-scored for the winners with 17 points. Nalan netted 14 and Albena Branzova (192-F/C-71), Esmeral and Begum scored 10 each. Dionne Brown (188-F/C-82, college: Baylor) nailed 19 in defeat, while Olena Samburska (172-G-89, agency: LBM Management) posted 15. In another game of the tournament Spartak overcame Praha 91:77.